


all at once everything is different, now that I see you

by galaxyksj



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Cute, Jongho is a baby, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but not for long, but not too much, hongjoong works at a daycare, jongho loves to get spoiled with attention, single parent seonghwa, soft, there will also be some angst, this will probably be detailed bc i work at a daycare myself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26792650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyksj/pseuds/galaxyksj
Summary: follow hongjoong as he turns from a daycare teacher to gaining a new title: daddy.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 57
Kudos: 134





	1. introduction

**Author's Note:**

> okay so some notes before you read along!
> 
> \- this may be filled with run on sentences and/or mispelling. im not gonna lie, when i began to write this i was all over the place and excited but did my best to re-read and go over each chapter.  
> \- the only characters that will be named are seonghwa, hongjoong, and jongho as they are the main characters anyone else mentioned will just be referred to as hongjoong or seonghwa's coworkers and/or family members  
> \- i feel like i shouldn't have to say this, but just in case, this is a work of fiction.
> 
> please enjoy!!

hongjoong wakes up, for once feeling well rested and energized. he pushes his blankets off of him and gets out of bed with a skip to his step.

he's feeling so good and he's even looking forward to his day today.  
  
  
  
hongjoong has been working at the same daycare for a few years now, being one of the employee's their workplace can count on and love to have around.

hongjoong just has a very bright and bubbly personality, but also very caring and affectionate towards the children - and when he's with the little babies, he's a complete sweetheart, like their his own child - he loves doing what he does and wouldn't trade it for the world.  
  
  
  
hongjoong was only 17 when he started going to school for early childhood, now at the age of 22, he feels like this is exactly where he wants to be when he grows old, taking care and nurturing children while their parents/ guardians are at work.

he'll never forget his first class when he was at school. a class of new 3 year olds joined the program, all were very quiet but once they got out of their shell, very playful and affectionate.

some of his other classmates were slightly envious of him, how when a child was crying, they went to hongjoong, how when a child got hurt and needed assistance, they went to hongjoong, or if they even wanted a hug or to just sit and cuddle, they went to hongjoong.

but in the end they all knew hongjoong couldn't help it if the children radiated towards him more. he was just a sweet person.  
  
  
  
after he gets dressed, he makes his bed thinking of what the day will bring. his class of 1 year olds, some of them turning 2. how adorable and sweet they are,

but how they can also be a handful, how sometimes they don't always listen no matter how stern he has to be.

he loves those children, and has gotten multiple compliments from his coworkers and even parents that he treats them like their his own; hongjoong always feels motivated by it, to always do his best.  
  
  
  
he decides to eat a small bowl of cereal for breakfast and packs himself a cup of coffee, knowing he'll definitely need to keep his energy in high spirits for the rest of the day, and out the front door he goes.

-

on his drive, he can't help but think of the children, or more specifically one of his favorite children, park jongho.

now, hongjoong doesn't want to say it's favoritism, but he just can't help it if he finds the 1 year old so damn adorable, how for only his age, he is way too smart for his own good and picks up on everything around him.

he really finds it even more adorable when some of the other children start taking toys or they start fighting, he'll go up to them and try to help, but if all else fails, he'll run up to hongjoong and inform him (or in jongho's very limited vocabulary: _"joo! no nie!"_ )

he'll only let hongjoong put him down for a nap, or change his diaper, or even feed him if he needs the help or if the food will be too messy.  
  
  
  
one thing is clear though, there's a small reason as to why he adores jongho, and, _no,_ it's _not_ because of his absolutely stunning dad...or well...alright maybe it is.

_mr. park seonghwa._

just thinking his name makes hongjoong smile a little. everyone at work has their little crushes of parents, and mr. park is definitely one of the daycare's favorite parent.

they appreciate what he does to help jongho's day go smooth and is a very laid back person, is easy and fun to talk to, and will always help whenever their class has a party or special event. there's only a handful of workers that mr. park trusts with his child, and hongjoong is one of them.  
  
  
  
hongjoong remembers one instance  
  
  
  
_it was pouring rain outside and the once bright day turned dark from the clouds in an instant, a bad storm was on it's way._

_a lot of parents came to pick their children up early, hongjoong was packing up his stuff so he's ready to go home himself; but alas he still has one child left with him, and it's no other than the park jongho._

_hongjoong can tell that jongho was starting to get upset, seeing everyone else leave. everytime a parent came in the room, hongjoong would talk to them about their child's day, only to be stopped by a tugging of his pants._

_looking down, he can see a teary eyed jongho, holding his arms up, looking like he's about to cry any second._  
  
  
  
_while picking up jongho, the mom of the child can't help but coo "don't worry, sweetheart, daddy is coming very very soon" she would tell the saddened 1 year old, but all he can focus on is the warmth hongjoong is radiating and runs his chubby little fingers up and down his work shirt, the soft fabric instantly calming him down._

_hongjoong bids a farewell and to be careful driving to the family as they leave the classroom._  
  
  
  
_with jongho being his last child, hongjoong would try to distract the baby by giving him toys he stores away for a special occasion, but all jongho wants to do is just sit in hongjoong's arms and wait for his daddy to come; and hongjoong doesn't mind._

_he loves jongho and would do anything to spend a few extra minutes with his favorite child. a few minutes pass and one of the coworkers comes in the room, the one hongjoong knows jongho isn't quite too fond of, but decides to stay quiet._

_she enters the room looking very unamused, and pretty much grabs jongho out of hongjoong's arms._  
  
  
  
_"I'm bringing him to the lobby so that way we can all go home when he leaves" her voice doesn't sit right with hongjoong, it's more monotone than usual and if he were a child, he would probably cry to get away from her- and that's exactly what jongho does._

_he starts whimpering, reaching out for hongjoong, his brown eyes wider than usual. hongjoong only feels nervous for how mr. park will react, as he normally picks jongho up from his classroom with hongjoong._  
  
  
  
_jongho normally isn't a child to act out, but put him with someone he isn't much of a fan of, or in an unfamiliar environment, and he will throw a fit like nobodys business. jongho starts to thrash in her arms, fat tears rolling down his chunky cheeks._

_hongjoong's heart was breaking into a million pieces, hearing his poor jongho burst into tears. "umm...maybe you should just put him down, his dad won't be too fond if he picks him up crying...especially with someone he doesn't know"_  
  
  
  
_she scoffed "well i'm just doing what i'm told, you have a problem? go call the front office about it" and with that, she left the room with a crying jongho._  
  
  
  
_it wasn't sitting right with hongjoong, he shut the lights off the lights and ran up to the office, hearing jongho's crying from his classroom._

_he could hear everyone trying to shush the overwhelmed boy, looking at jongho; who was now turning red and began to flail his arms._

_hongjoong had to intervene, there was no way he was going to let mr.park walk in and see this shitshow of a storm happen._  
  
  
  
_hongjoong pushed everyone to the side until he was face to face with jongho himself, he grabbed his little chubby hand, running smooth circles to soothe the baby. "jongho, look at me baby, it's joo" jongho opened his eyes, making eye contact with hongjoong._

_he picked up jongho, rocking him back and forth walking back to his classroom, hopefully the quiet classroom can make the young boy calm down._  
  
  
  
_"no joo go" hongjoong heard jongho whimper against his shirt_  
  
  
  
_"joo isn't going anywhere, baby, i'm right here" hongjoong just held him tighter_  
  
  
  
_a few minutes later, the classroom door opened to reveal a disheveled mr. park, shoving his keys and phone into his back pocket._

_he immediately took notice of hongjoong cradling his son, but more importantly, how his son looked like a complete mess, red puffy eyes and runny nose._  
  
  
  
_"jongho, daddy's here" jongho looked up and opened his arms out for his dad, ultimately relaxing when he was finally in his dad's arms._  
  
  
  
" _what happened, buddy?" mr. park asked his son, but hongjoong felt like it was a rhetorical question._  
  
  
  
_"well, umm...mr. park" he cleared his throat " one of our teachers took him up front so they can wait for you, but he started freaking out once he left my arms. i brought him back here to calm him down" hongjoong doesn't know why he felt his hands become sweaty and his body start to itch, why was he so nervous to talk to mr. park, he's always done this._

_why was today different nonetheless?_  
  
  
  
_mr. park flashed hongjoong a soft smile "hongjoong, don't worry. i know how jongho really only prefers you, you should hear him at home it's nonstop "joo, joo, joo", i don't mind though. but i really appreciate you calming him down, i'm definitely going to have a word with them before i leave"_  
  
_hongjoong couldn't help but smile a little at that, he really enjoyed when he made mr. park satisfied._

_"it's no problem, mr. park. i know as a parent to a teacher, i shouldn't tell you this, but i absolutely adore jongho, i treat him like my own son"_  
  
  
  
_mr. park flashed another smile at hongjoong_

_"well, i hope this isn't awkward or anything, but sometimes when i work late, i could really use a babysitter, and since jongho is comfortable around you already, i figured how would you like to babysit him from time to time?"_

  
  
_now it was hongjoong's turn to flash a goofy grin_

_"sure, mr. park! i absolutely don't mind one bit!" geez, was he coming on too strong? tone it down, hongjoong, he just asked you to babysit his kid not marry you..._  
  
  
  
_mr. park fished out his phone and handed it to hongjoong "i'll text you maybe this weekend? i'm not so sure yet, but i will definitely text you a few days before, and like i said before you are always free to say no, i won't get mad"_  
  
  
  
_hongjoong simply nodded his head, not trusting himself to form a proper sentence._  
  
_"alright, say bye to joo, jongho"_  
  
_"joo!" jongho just simply waved his chubby hand_  
  
_hongjoong placed a kiss on his head "bye baby, i'll see you tomorrow"_  
  
  
  
_he waited a few minutes then headed up to the lobby, everyone staring at him._  
  
  
  
_"what happened?"_

  
  
_"your mr. park told us that he only prefers if jongho is with you as he's more comfortable with you... looks like mr. park is a dad but also a daddy now" one of them snickered._  
  
  
  
_hongjoong couldn't help but blush at that. he found it rather uncomfortable to think of mr. park in that way, but then hongjoong thought back to when they were talking._

_he's now replaying in his head of just how close mr. park was standing, how his smile looked more than a friendly parent smiling at their child's teacher..._  
  
  
_"oh stop, you know i don't think of mr. park in that way...he's just a parent who trusts me with his child... that's all and you know it"_  
  
  
  
_all his coworkers, he really needed to learn some of the new coworkers names, just snickered as they all walked out the building, running to get out of the rain._  
  
  
-

  
  
  
hongjoong had a bright smile on his face as he walked into the building, a skip in his step.  
  
  
  
"good morning!" he loudly greeted anyone he passed by, whether it be teachers or parents, making his way to his classroom.

he was greeted by all his babies, squealing to finally see joo, as they all call him. hongjoong has implied multiple times that he should be called "mr. joong" but these children can barely talk, so he's settled with _joo_ for now.  
  
  
  
he made his way to every child, hugging and greeting them, until he made eye contact with his favorite baby.

jongho was sitting on one of the fluffy bean bags, chewing on his stuffed bears ear.

hongjoong placed his bag down, making his way over to jongho, he can now make out his red puffy eyes and runny nose- hongjoong is feeling deja vu back to the day there was a storm.

"jongho, baby, what's wrong?"  
  
  
jongho just crawled out the bean bag and onto hongjoong's lap, wrapping his little arms around hongjoong's stomach.

one of the teachers places a hand on hongjoong's shoulder "mr. park said that jongho had a long night and a hard morning, said he threw a whole tantrum and barely got any sleep himself."

  
  
hongjong took a look at the baby in his arms, he sees jongho's flutter close, his teddy bears ear still in his mouth.

hongjoong took out his phone from his back pocket and decided to text jongho's dad.

just as he puts his phone on, he sees he already had an unread text message, and it's from none other than mr. park himself  
  
_**mr. park:**_

  
_hello hongjoong, good morning. i'm pretty sure someone told you about what happened with jongho. you should have seen him, he threw a whole fit and kept me up all night, i only brought him to school because once i mentioned your name, he immediately stopped crying and managed to get around 20 minutes of sleep._

_maybe you can help soothe him? but if nothing works please let me know and i'll come pick him up._  
  
**_hongjoong:_**  
  
_i just arrived now, good morning as well. when i walked in, he was sitting on one of our bean bags and was chewing on his teddy bears ear. he crawled onto my lap and has been asleep for i would say 10 minutes now. i'll keep you updated on how he is_  
  
  
  
**_mr. park:_**  
  
_seriously thank you, you definitely have the magic touch on my son_  
  


hongjoong smiled and put his phone back. luckily there weren't many kids on mondays, so hongjoong allowed himself to bring jongho in one of the empty classroom and placed him in the crib. 

he let's the baby sleep in the quiet classroom, only now accompanied by the soft snores and breathing of jongho.

around 2 hours later is when jongho started to stir and whine, hongjoong sprang up form the chair, checking on him.

he saw jongho rubbing his eyes, looking up with his eyebrows furrowed and prominent pout on his face  
  
"'addy" jongho made grabby hands up at the blonde man.

hongjoong _froze_.  
  


_'did jongho just call me daddy?'_ hongjoong thinks ' _he must still be tired...yeah that must be it'_

the sound of a door closing loudly made hongjoong jump a little, as well as jongho fuss even more.

he managed to stand up on his chubby legs, holding onto the ledge of the crib "'addy" making a grabby hand at hongjoong once more.

  
  
"um.. hongjoong... why is jongho calling you daddy?" he turned around to see none other than his boss.  
  


he felt his throat go dry, was he gonna get in trouble? was he gonna get fired for this? was this against daycare rules or something along those lines?  
  


"umm... i don't know myself..." he internally face palmed himself, _what a convincing answer, hongjoong_  
  


he picked jongho up, soothing the little child. "hongjoong, that's what we need to discuss, come sit down, and put jongho down"

her tone of voice was one not to argue with. with a sigh, he placed jongho on one of the playmats near the crib.  
  


jongho ignored the toys on the floor, opting to crawl over to hongjoong instead. it took all of hongjoong's will power to not pay attention to the child.  
  


"is something wrong?" hongjoong asked lightly  
  


"we've been noticing an unhealthy pattern with jongho... he's developed quiet a strong attachment to you, he refuses anyone else to help him or feed him or change him, he only wants you and i'm sorry but we need to separate the both of you."

she pauses to see jongho doing his best to wrap his little arms around hongjoong's leg, pout promptly on his face.

"he needs to get used to the other teachers in the classroom. you shouldn't have brought him in a seperate room to nap, he needs to get into the routine of naptime and you cannot coddle his every little need 24/7. starting now, i'm sending jongho in our other infant classroom. please do not visit him in there, it's only for his own good."

  
  
the words hit hongjoong like a ton of bricks.

in a way she did have a point, hongjoong also has developed an unhealthy attachment to jongho as well. maybe this would be good for the both of them...  
  
she picked up jongho along with his teddy bear, and made her way towards the door.

this set alarm bells in jongho's little head. why was he leaving hongjoong? he wanted joo to stay with him, not to leave again...  
  


hongjoong had to bite his tongue when he began to hear jongho whimper "no joo 'addy go" and had to look away once the door closed and the baby began bursting into tears.

hongjoong took a deep breath, trying to rationalize with himself.

this wasn't even his own biological child, and yet here he is treating him as if he's the one who birthed him.

but he does work at a daycare and it's his main priority to make sure the child is safe happy and cared for when their parents leave for work.

a vibration in his pocket interrupted his thoughts. he unlocked it, noticing a text from mr. park himself.

**_mr. park:_**  
  
just checking in on jongho, is he doing okay? is he still napping? i hope i'm not being a bother, but whenever you have the time please update me  
  
****

  
hongjoong can still faintly hear jongho crying, not having the heart to tell his dad about how he is right now. he took a deep breath and began typing.

_**hongjoong:** _

jongho is doing good. he took about a 2 hour nap, I hope that doesn't mess up his nighttime routine. he's okay and safe and sound.

he had to type the last sentence with tears in his eyes as he could hear jongho crying for his daddy in the other room.

the rest of the day went pretty smoothly for hongjoong, the other children's needs and activities distracting him until it was time for him to go home.

as he was packing up his belongings, he heard the classroom door open, and in stepped in mr. park holding jongho.  
  
  
hongjoong utterly felt guilty looking at the man, he really didn't need to feel this way but he somewhat lied to him.

he hopes this doesn't destroy their relationship he spent so long building up.  
  


"hongjoong, they told me that they moved jongho into another room, but i wanna know why you didn't tell me the truth?" he could hear the slight disappointment in his voice, and that was enough to ultimately make hongjoong start to tear up  
  


"i-i'm really sorry, mr. park, i just didn't want you to worry. i know how much you trust me with your son, and i really hope this doesn't ruin any-" he was momentarily cut off by mr. park's soft chuckles  
  


"i'm not mad or anything, please don't cry...i know how much you care for jongho, it really means the world that someone else can give the love i give to jongho"

he looked down when he spoke, but shook his head and looked back up at hongjoong

"you really are an amazing and caring person, hongjoong, don't forget that." mr. park placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting the younger boy.  
  


"by the way, the other teachers told me jongho did okay today...not too much crying but he was engaging with the other children...but i hope this doesn't change your mind about babysitting this weekend?" he squeezed hongjoong's gently ever so gently, causing butterflies to erupt in hongjoong's stomach.  
  
  
  


hongjoong gulped audibly "n-no...it doesn't at all. i'll definitely see you this weekend"  
  
  
  
and with that mr. park smiled, leaving the classroom with an exhausted jongho in his arms.

  
  
hongjoong tried to ignore the warmth still radiating on his shoulder, attempting to hide his smile but ultimately failing.  
  


-

this week passed by in such a blur, it was the same usual routine for hongjoong. no matter how busy the children kept him, he couldn't shake off that small talk he had with mr. park.

he kept getting teased by his coworkers, all of them a little envious that mr. park has taken an interest in one of their own.

hongjoong simply dismisses it- they all call him oblivious.  
  


"don't you think it's a little odd that he really only prefers you with his son?"  
  
"yeah, and how even if sometimes jongho isn't in your classroom, he'll still come in and talk to you"  
  
"he's completely whipped for you, and his son is, too"

it was the usual banter hongjoong heard during the day, he only brushes it off...at least that's what he shows to the others.

deep down, he secretly is a little whipped for mr. park himself; how can you not be? a young and handsome single father who's child is practically in _love_ with you? hongjoong honestly feels like he hit the jackpot.   
  


but there's a slither of doubt- he can't help but have second thoughts.

is he just overthinking everything? is mr. park just being a friendly parents towards hongjoong?

yes, he's only being a friendly parent, that's what it must be. hongjoong feels like an angsty teenager all over again, pining over his sort of/not sort of crush.  
  


he begins to pack his bags and makes himself look a little decent- he is going to mr. park's house to babysit jongho.

but, of course, this isn't the first time, he's gone over his house a handful of times; but this time it feels different. he's letting what his coworkers are saying get to him a little.

should he really try to make a move on mr. park?  
  


hongjoong shakes his head to clear his thoughts and makes his way out the building and into his car, mentally preparing himself for the night to come.

hongjoong only has to knock once to hear jongho's shouts from inside the house, not able to hide his smile and to hear him sound so free and happy.  
  


he's taken out of his thoughts when he feels something grab onto his leg "joo! joo! joo!"  
  
  
  
he looks down to see jongho gripping his leg, bouncing on the balls of his feet trying not to lose his balance.

hongjoong shifts his backpack onto his back and easily picks up jongho. he'll never get over how jongho fits so snug in his arms.  
  


"jongho, buddy, wait until joo is at least in the house" hongjoong looks up to see mr. park, flashing him his white pearls of teeth.

hongjoong notices he's wearing his usual work attire, ushering hongjoong to come inside.

"hongjoong, i really appreciate you coming to watch my son for me. even though he's still a baby, he has a complete understanding of you coming to babysit him, i swear he's way too smart for his own good" mr. park chuckles as he watches his son cuddle up into hongjoong's arms.  
  


"it's no problem at all, mr. park. you know how much i love him anyway. a lot of people at work call him my son, too with how much he's obsessed with me" hongjoong's face begins to turn warm as he realized what he just said.

did he just pretty much call jongho his own son _right_ in front of his actual father? talk about an awkward situation...  
  
  
  
mr. park once again lets out a breathy laugh "well, i must get going, i have a few meetings tonight and won't be home until late probably around 11 or midnight. if anything, you know what to do, and hongjoong?"

the said boy hums as he perks his head up to look at the father, who gently places his hand on hongjoong's arm

"thank you for doing this, my son really enjoys your company"

_so do i_ hongjoong wants to add, but only lets it stay in his head.

"anything for your son, mr. park" hongjoong smiles innocently  
  
  
  
"i'll be home late, baby, joo is gonna be with you. be a good boy for him. daddy loves you" mr. park lovingly places a kiss on jongho's forehead, only to have his face squished by jongho himself and have his face attacked with what jongho thinks are kisses.

hongjoong watches in awe. there's a part of him deep down that this whole scene in front of him just feels so _domestic_? holding jongho while he's kissing his daddy goodbye? hongjoong feels giddy as he protectively holds jongho a little closer  
  


"'addy bye" jongho mumbles between his dad's cheeks, watching mr. park walk down the path into his car but not before waving goodbye to the two.  
  


hongjoong closes the door behind him "okay, jongho what should we do now?"

-

seonghwa quietly opens the door to his house, placing his briefcase on the rack and hangs his keys up.

he tries not to be too loud as it's past 11 p.m, jongho should definitely be sleeping by now. his bedtime being a little past 9 on the weekends.

he toes off his shoes as he makes his way around the house, seeing everything in tip top shape as if no one was even home for the past few hours.  
  


he makes his way down the hall to jongho's room and slowly opens the door, not even trying to hide his smile at the scene in front of him.

he sees jongho dressed in his favorite onesie pajama set, laying right on top of hongjoong's chest, curling into the babysitter's shirt.

seonghwa can't help but feel a little envious, jongho only sleeps with him like that when he has a bad dream, but here he is doing it with his daycare teacher/ babysitter.

seonghwa tip toes over to the pair, gently scooping up jongho off of hongjoong's chest.  
  


"'addy" seonghwa hears jongho sleepily mumble to himself. seonghwa gently shushes him "baby, it's daddy, it's okay"  
  


however, jongho isn't satified with his father's answer as he begins to whimper holding his arms out making grabby hands at the man sleeping "'addy"

seonghwa freezes.

did jongho just call hongjoong daddy? did he hear that right? surely, he must be still tired, having woken him up so abruptly.

he feels perplexed as he doesn't know what to respond but for his son's sake, just decides to go along with it, to avoid any tantrums  
  
"baby, let's let daddy sleep, okay? he's tired...let's go to sleep ourselves" he tucks jongho into his own crib, placing his pacifier in his mouth and his teddy bear in his arms. jongho is snoring and out like a light within seconds.  
  


seonghwa feels somewhat warm thinking about calling hongjoong jongho's daddy. there' something about the man that just makes seonghwa feel good and dare he say it, happy.

the last person to make him feel like this was jongho's birthmother, that was, when they were _sort of_ together. 

seonghwa smiles down at the sleeping jongho, bending down to give him a kiss on his nose "i'll always love you" he whispers oh so gently.  
  


he turns around as he hears shuffling, notices hongjoong woke up, making eye contact with him.

seonghwa only places a finger on his lips and nods his head towards the bedroom door, the two men walking out but not before turning around and checking on jongho one last time for the night.  
  


"was he good for you?" seonghwa speaks a little louder

he can't help but internally coo as he sees hongjoong pout while rubbing his eyes, trying to wake himself up. "y-yeah... he was an angel didn't give me any problems at all not one fussy moment"  
  


"you gotta teach me what you do. he's normally a saint but sometimes he just has his moments" seonghwa steps closer, getting a better look at hongjoong.

the lighting in his kitchen casts a perfect glow on hongjoong, his blonde hair and tan skin making him look...dare he say it? irresistible.

seonghwa doesn't know if its the lack of sleep talking but hongjoong looks like an angel with a glowing aura around him.  
  
  
  
hongjoong's eyes grow slightly bigger "u-um...i just do what i normally do with jongho...i treat him like any other child...well, to an extent...i know i said jongho is practically my favorite, but how i talk to him is how i...talk to any other...um...child..."  
  


seonghwa can't help but notice how hongjoong is losing his train of thought and can't help but follow his eyes, which are looking at his lips. hongjoong looks completely mesmerized, and seonghwa thinks he should just rip the bandaid off and break the distance.

seonghwa gently places his hand on hongjoong's neck, taking a few seconds to analyze his reaction. when he sees no falter, he leans forward and finally presses his lips onto the younger ones.  
  


he can feel hongjoong place his hand flat on his chest, and can't get enough how perfectly hongjoong fits in his arms and feels on his lips.

they remain like that for what feels like hours but only turns out to be a few minutes. hongjoong pulls away, a big goofy grin plastered on his shiny plump lips.  
  
"mr.park..."

  
"please, just call me, seonghwa"  
  


seonghwa pretends he doesn't hear the squeal hongjoong lets out "o-okay"

"you know, hongjoong... when i went to pick up jongho and put him in his crib, he called you daddy"  
  


hongjoong's eyes widened "o-oh...i'm sorry i hope that wasn't weird or uncomfortable to yo-" seonghwa cut him off by placing another kiss to his lips  
  


"i'm not weirded out if you aren't...but what do you want to do about this? i think it's pretty obvious i have a thing for you..." seonghwa can be really blunt when he needs to be and he's thankful it comes in handy at moments like these.  
  
he watches hongjoong step impossibly closer into his chest "i'm fine with it if you are...that is if it's okay with jongho"  
  
seonghwa snorts "please he called you daddy while his actual father was holding him...i think he's gonna love it"  
  
hongjoong smiles "you know he did that before too, that day when he had to move classrooms, he woke up from his sleep and called me daddy"  
  
seonghwa placed one hand on hongjoong's cheek, running his thumb up and down soothingly "when jongho first started, i knew he took a liking to you...maybe that's what opened my eyes a little bit. and that day there was a bad storm, how you knew just what to do to comfort and protect him...that's when i knew that maybe what i was feeling was something more. i don't want to rush anything, i want to go at whatever pace you want; that is if you really want this"  
  
hongjoong gripped seonghwa's shirt "seonghwa..." he looked down, hiding his smile from calling him his first name "i want this, i want to see where this takes us"  
  
"this won't affect your work will it?"

it was hongjoong's turn to snort "please, everyone at work pretty much knows there's a thing between us...in fact they always get so envious when mr. park comes and feel crushed when their flirting attempts get knocked down"  
  
"that's because i only have eyes for a certain blondie" seonghwa boops his nose, watching how it makes hongjoong giggle.  
  
they were interrupted out of their little world when they heard cries coming from jongho's room.

seonghwa pretty much jogs into jongho's room, feeling hongjoong walk slowly behind him. seonghwa sees jongho tossing and turning, he knows jongho does that when he's having a bad dream.  
  
"jongho, daddy is here you're okay, wake up" seonghwa moves his baby blanket off his body, placing both arms around him to hold him close to his chest; knowing that holding jongho close and tight to him helps him relax and feel safe.

he begins to rock him side to side, watching hongjoong stand awkwardly by the door- motioning him to come inside the room with a nod of his head.

hongjoong stands near seonghwa, holding jongho's little chubby hand in his own, running his thumb up and down to soothe the upset baby.

this makes jongho wake up a little more, eyes going wide when he sees hongjoong "joo!" he whispers, clapping his hands excitedly.

seonghwa can already sense his son isn't going back to bed anytime soon, now looking more awake seeing hongjoong, mentally preparing himself for the night to come.  
  
hongjoong suddenly takes jongho out of his arms and begins to rock him, shushing him every now and then. "baby, it's time to go back to sleep. you'll see joo next time. i promise" he makes eye contact with seonghwa on that last statement.

seonghwa steps back and lets hongjoong work his magic, a few minutes later seeing jongho back to sleeping in his crib.

"i told you, you have the magic touch on my son"  
  
hongjoong simply waves his hand in disbelief, walking out of the baby's room. he looks at the clock, noticing it's already past 1 in the morning "i guess i should go back home now, it's really late"  
  
seonghwa frowns "why don't you just stay the night? i don't want you to drive alone this late. you can sleep on the couch or even in jongho's room, i know he'll love seeing you when he wakes up."

hongjoong shrugs "yeah why not, but don't get too comfortable this is only a one time thing...it's late and i don't want to drive alone" seonghwa thinks he's convincing himself more than the ravenette himself.  
  


seonghwa placed a kiss on hongjoong's temple "i'll get you a blanket and pillow", walking down the hall.  
  
he comes back in the living room only to see hongjoong fast asleep. he covers him with the blanket, and turns off the lamp, but not before giving hongjong a goodnight kiss on his cheek.

looking down at the man who's peacefully sleeping, he can't help but smile.

"I can get used to this..." he whispers to himself as he shuts the lights off, dragging his feet to his bedroom. 


	2. I want to protect you, forever together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a problem arises, leading hongjoong into finding out how jongho came into his father's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- title is from beautiful night by monsta x  
> \- another reminder that is is purely a work of fiction

hongjoong was abruptly woken up to the sound of his phone buzzing repeatedly. he groaned as he tried to open his eyes and adjust them in the night.  
  
the blonde man reached over for his phone, looking at the time. who the hell is texting him at 3 in the morning on a saturday? he unlocks his phone to see a wary of messages from seonghwa.  
  
****

**_seonghwa:_**  
  
hongjoong I know it's extremely late but i really need you right now, I'm outside your house, please open up.  
  
_**seonghwa:**_  
I'm so sorry to be a nuisance but I really need you right now, please pick up or answer.  
  
**_seonghwa:_**  
  
sweetheart, please answer the phone.  
  


hongjoong notices the last one was sent only a few minutes ago. he springs out of bed and rushes to open his door, only to be stopped by the familiar sounds of a baby crying.   
  
just as he opens the door, seonghwa is already there, looking heartbroken, and holding a crying jongho. hongjoong moves to the side to let him in, but seonghwa only shakes his head.  
  
"I'm really sorry hongjoong, I know this isn't right of me to do this, but I need you to take jongho something happened and i cant have jongho at home witnessing any of it. I trust him the most with you. I'll explain later. I trust you" seonghwa drops off his crying baby into hongjoong's arms, kissing his head before whispering "daddy will keep you safe, I promise"   
  
just before he rushes off, he takes a few steps back, placing a quick kiss on hongjoong's lips "I'll call when I'm coming back"

hongjoong watches seonghwa leave in lightning speed, not even processing what is going on, but is brought back when jongho's crying come back in earshot.

he steps inside, locking the door. the boy starts by gently rocking jongho to calm him down, walking around the room.   
  
jongho can only manage to blubber out "daddy", breaking hongjoong's heart. he's never seen jongho so distraught but he's not giving up.

he grabs the blanket jongho likes using and quietly steps out into his backyard. laying down in one of his lawn chairs, he lets jongho get comfortable on top of him and covers them both with the blanket.

all that's heard during the night is crickets and jongho's sniffling. hongjoong softly rubs his back.  
  
"'addy" jongho looks up at hongjoong then at the door. hongjoong definitely knows he's looking for seonghwa, his little head peeking up to look around.   
  
"baby, daddy is coming back I promise. daddy and joo are going to protect you no matter what happens" hongjoong places a kiss on the child's forehead.  
  
he can feel jongho place his head back down, his breathing evening out. he waits a few more minutes before going back inside and into his bedroom. he lays jongho right next to him and places his spare pillows around the baby.

once hongjoong lays down, jongho crawls into hongjoong's arms, taking his sleep shirt in his mouth. he's always had a thing for chewing on hongjoong's shirt when he was upset, and especially now, hongjoong isnt gonna push the shirt away and let's the baby chew on it.  
  
"everything is going to be okay, baby" hongjoong whispers before his own eyes close and he slips into dreamland.

-

hongjoong doesn't hear from seonghwa until late saturday evening. he receives a text saying that he's coming back to get jongho.  
  
jongho wasn't acting like his usual bubbly self but did ultimately calm down when he was with hongjoong.

he ate his breakfast and his lunch quietly with no fuss, and opted to cuddle with hongjoong instead of playing with his spare toys hongjoong keeps in his closet; he didn't even want to watch his favorite t.v show, which made hongjoong feel even more worried.  
  
every now and then, jongho would stand up on the couch, with the help of hongjoong and look at the front door but not before almost bursting into tears "'addy" he would nonstop say, before plopping down and hiding in hongjoong's chest.  
  
hongjoong couldn't help but feel helpless, for once he doesnt know what to do to get his smiley and bubbly baby back. surely whatever happened really affected him to the point where he needed his actual father.

jongho's cries come to a halt when the sound of a car door closing gets their attention.

hongjoong sits up and walks over to the door, watching jongho begin to burst into tears as he finally sees his daddy walk into the house.

seonghwa scoops up his baby in his arms, hugging him so tightly, placing his nose in the crook of the baby's neck.  
  
"'addy, 'addy, 'addy"  
  
seonghwa soothes his shaken up son "daddy is back, baby, I would never leave you, I promise"  
  
hongjoong watches as a few tears fall down his own face. he always admired how much of a great father seonghwa was, but looking at him in this light made him respect him even more.

he stepped back as he closed the front door and moved back to give them some alone time.  
  
just as he was about to walk out, he was stopped by a hand on his wrist. he turned around to see seonghwa, moving his hand down to intertwine their fingers; pulling the blonde closer to him.  
  
seonghwa leans down to meet hongjoong's lips, the pair both revelling in the kiss, both needing the comfort.  
  
a few moments later, they pull away, seonghwa resting his hand on hongjoong's cheek, glancing at jongho then back at hongjoong; mentally asking him how he was.  
  
hongjoong let out a sigh "he was a wreck without you, I managed to calm him down once you left. he definitely knew something wasn't right, though, he would glance at the front door or look around while saying "daddy", which is the most I've ever heard him say that word. he didnt want to play or anything, just sat with me the whole time" his voice being gentle, looking affectionately at jongho, who had his cheek smushed on seonghwa's shoulder, looking all around the room with his wide brown eyes.  
  
seonghwa rubbed jongho's back "if something ever happens, I never show it to him, to avoid a breakdown, but this happened so abruptly and I know you're the one person he goes to for comfort. come sit with me, I'll explain"  
  
the trio made their way to the couch, seonghwa placing jongho on the carpet, but the baby crawled up seonghwa's leg and plopped right in the middle of the two lovers.  
  
hongjoong placed a kiss on the little one's head, followed by seonghwa, making jongho giggle and clap his hands.  
  
"I never got to tell you how jongho came into my life"  
  
seonghwa went into detail of jongho's birthmother, who was also his ex girlfriend, and he he was crazy for her but she never felt the same.

how when she found out she was pregnant, she was planning to get rid of the baby, but seonghwa begged and pleaded her to keep it and not end the unborn child's life.

he explained how one night, he heard a baby crying on his front door stop, and when he opened it, there was a baby along with a note. she wrote how she left the hospital as soon as the baby was born and decided to leave town, ditching the newborn onto the father's doorstep.

seonghwa then said he called his parents freaking out having no idea what to do, but they've helped him with everything he needs to know.

seonghwa further explained that the night before she managed to find him and barge into his house with no explanation. he detailed that for the first time, he panicked in front of jongho and left to bring him to hongjoong's house. he didnt know how he managed to drive safely back to his house with his eyes clouded with tears.

she went on saying that she wanted jongho back and began rummaging through his house. seonghwa can't remember much but all he remembers is the police being involved and her screaming as she was being arrested.

seonghwa slightly chuckled as he saw hongjoong begin to teat up. "hongjoong, don't cry please, it's all okay now"  
  
"yeah but just thinking about her almost aborting jongho...I can't bare the thought...I mean he's not even my actual child, but he just means so much to me." jongho looked up, hearing hongjoong's voice falter- he managed to stand up on the couch, wiping hongjoong's tears; the action making hongjoong cry even more.  
  
"no cry 'addy" seonghwa sat back, admiring his son comfort his teacher. "love 'addy, love joo" jongho kissed hongjoong on his nose and then turned to kiss seonghwa on the cheek.  
  
"do you think he really understands that he sometimes calls me daddy?" hongjoong pondered out loud  
  
seonghwa hummed "I'm not sure but then again jongho's very smart, he definitely knows something. everything he does is for a reason"  
  
the two sit back and bask in the comfort of the baby. the trio fitting happily together on the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a request if you have any in mind! ❤


	3. of painting and cuddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a small look into a day with hongjoong and jongho

"jongho! where is he?! i can't find him!" hongjoong shouts looking around the room. he pretends not to see a giggling jongho sitting right in front of him.

"i guess i can't find jongho...oh no i must have lost him" hongjoong puts his face in his hands and sniffles, pretending to cry.

he only does it to get a reaction out of jongho, and it sure works.

jongho gasps, crawling over to hongjoong's lap "joo no 'ad" gently lowering his hand and wiping at his cheeks.

hongjoong scoops him up, hovering him up in the air "i'm not crying, baby, don't worry. joo isn't sad. he's happy! he found jongho!"

jongho doesn't fully understand what hongjoong said but the smile on his face is enough to make jongho smile.

hongjoong tickles jongho to the point where his face begins to turn a little red. jongho holds arms out, big smile on his chubby face "'addy!" and throws himself at hongjoong; holding the baby in his arms, attacking him with kisses.

unbeknownst to hongjoong, seonghwa is standing in the hallway, leaning on the doorframe; a warm smile spread on his face watching his boyfriend play with his son.

he thinks back at the moments that hongjoong interacts with jongho. the way he talks and treats jongho proves that hongjoong definitely has been working with children and knows what he's doing.

he'll always do activities with him or projects seonghwa doesn't even come close to thinking of. he'll leave that for the teacher. he watches them for a little bit longer before returning back to his office.

"hmm...i was thinking about painting, do you wanna paint with joo?" he hears hongjoong ask jongho

jongho claps his little hands "pain! wan pain!"

hongjoong giggles "you have to pronounce the t in paint, honey. let's go get the paints from my bag then" he helps jongho slide off the couch and off he waddles next to hongjoong, going by the door to get his jars of paints he brought from his house.

hongjoong lets jongho hold the paintbrushes while he holds the jars. "we have to paint outside, baby, daddy wouldn't want us to paint inside, it will make a mess" he explains as he opens the sliding door leading to their backyard.

"'addy no mess" jongho nods, eyebrows furrowing. if hongjoong's hands weren't full, he would have definitely snapped a photo of jongho's cute face. maybe next time, he'll try.

hongjoong puts his jars down on the cement, jongho copying him and placing the brushes down. "we have to get you changed, baby, so your clothes don't get messy and because why..?" hongjoong raises an eyebrow expectantly

"'addy no mess!" jongho shouts, looking bashful when hongjoong claps and kisses his cheek "that's right, baby! daddy no mess!"

hongjoong holds up an old pair of overalls that seonghwa approved of him to use to get messy.

he changes jongho over under the tree to give him some privacy and the pair waddle back by the paints.

hongjoong opens only 2 jars for now, and begins to tape the paper down on the cement, ushering for jongho to sit next to him.

"do you know what color this is, honey?" hongjoong holds up the jar in front of jongho

"ello" hongjoong squeals "yes, baby, it's yellow! and what color is this?"

"boo!" hongjoong cups his cheeks, kissing his nose "you're so smart, baby, it is blue! now i was gonna let us use paintbrushes but i think we should just paint with our hands. do you like that idea?" hongjoong wiggled his hand in front of jongho's face, the baby reaching out for hongjoong's finger.

"okay hands it is! daddy's not here so we can make a mess, but shh don't tell daddy, okay?" hongjoong sees the blank expression on jongho's face. he didn't quiet understand what hongjoong said, his little mind only set on painting.

jongho moves from hongjoong's side to inbetween his legs, kicking them absentmindedly.

hongjoong pours a little bit of paint on jongho's hands and watches in amusement as jongo stares at his hands, squishing the paint together and then splats it onto paper; then proceeds to slide his hands across the paper back and forth.

"'ol pain" jongho babbles

hongjoong looks at him confused "is the paint cold, jongho?"

jongho only exclaims his statement with a loud squeal "'ol pain! joo 'ol pain!"

the pair stay like this for a good almost half an hour, which hongjoong is surprised that it kept jongho's interest this long, before he starts to notice jongho leaning against his stomach, his eyes slowly drooping. "alright, baby let's get you cleaned up. maybe we can watch some t.v when we're done?"

jongho doesn't respond, a tell tale sign that he's getting tired. hongjoong closes the paint lids and carries jongho inside towards the bathroom for a bath.

a few minutes later hongjoong is sitting on the couch with a freshly bathed jongho, who's clutching his sippy cup in both hands.

he's sprawled on top of hongjoong's stomach, head leaning into the crook of his neck. his baby blanket draped over him. the pair are watching a kid friendly show, jongho's attention full on the t.v.

"well, here's my two babies" hongjoong's ears perk up at the voice coming into the living room.

hongjoong smiles as his boyfriend takes the seat next to him, placing a quick peck on his cheek. jongho gasps, crawling over to his father's lap "'addy!"

seonghwa kisses the top of his head "hey, baby, did you have fun with joo?"

"pain joo" jongho mumbles, getting comfortable in his father's lap.

"you painted with joo? oh i bet it was fun!" jongho looks over at hongjoong and holds his hand tightly

"my joo" he holds hongjoong's hand closer to his chest, clutching it tightly.

the two adults giggle at the baby's antics, smushing kisses all over the baby's face.


	4. always here to help you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jongho wakes up from a nightmare then begins to feel sick, lots of kisses and cuddles ensue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written from jongho's perspective I tried my best lol

jongho was having a bad dream, in fact it was too scary for him to even be called a dream. one second he was with his daddy and then the next, a scary monster was chasing him.

he was trying to run to his daddy, but his daddy was no where in sight. he looked around for joo, but joo wasn't there either. he could feel the tears his his cheeks before he even let out a wail.

he felt very scared, curling in on himself. his tummy was hurting really badly too. he whimpered for his daddy and joo, they would make the bad dream go away and his tummy feel better.

but where were they?

a few minutes pass, and jongho could feel himself being moved into something warm. his eyes were still closed, too scared to open them in case he saw the monster again. he curled into the wamth, but as soon as it arrived, it left just as quickly.

where is daddy? where is joo? jongho has never felt this scared before...

"-aby..."

that voice sounded familiar...who's was it? jongho was too busy crying for help to listen to who's voice it was. maybe the louder he cried, the quicker daddy or joo would come.

"baby, jongho, wake up"

that was joo's voice! jongho slowly opened his eyes to see joo looking down at him. why did he look sad? was joo going to cry again? where is daddy?

"'ddy...'addy" jongho barely muttered. where was daddy? he wanted both of them to be here with him.

he saw joo lean down to give him a kiss, which helped immensely. he loved joo's kisses. his kisses felt nice and warm like daddy's kisses.

jongho looked around to see his daddy walk into the room too. he felt himself being rocked in joo's arms and then water turn on.

"baby, it's daddy shhh" he looked up to see his daddy placing a kiss on his forehead as well. he felt warm in his chest. in fact, he felt warmth and wetness all over his chest; he felt utterly uncomfortable because of it.

he felt daddy take his pajamas off and then he felt himself being placed in the bathtub. he felt so sleepy, he just wanted to curl up in joo or daddy's arms.

the water made him feel uncomfortable, he tried to get out but could only flail his arms. he heard his daddy's voice, which made him feel a little better but he wanted to get out of the water quickly.

it was as if daddy or joo heard his thoughts, he was carried out of the water and into a warm towel.

"'addddddyyyyy" he whined, he just wanted to go back to sleep, why was that so hard? why was he being moved around so much?

he felt himself returning back into the warmth, looking up he saw joo giving him kisses on his head.

but where was his daddy?

with unstable balance, jongho managed to stand up leaning on joo's shoulder, looking around the room. he felt himself getting upset again, he wanted both his daddies here to help him feel better.

"'addy! 'addy!" jongho whimpered as he looked around the room, feeling that upset feeling in his tummy grow again. he cried out as he held his tummy. joo placed him back in his arms, rubbing his tummy.

he felt it rise up in his throat, just as he opened his mouth, joo placed a big bucket for him to empty his tummy.

jongho didn't like this feeling at all, he shook his head as he tried to push the bucket away, it smelled bad, and back into joo's arms. he felt joo push him up a little and felt him rub his back.

"joo, owie" he whimpered

a few moments later, he saw daddy walk in the room, holding a small red bottle in his hand. jongho knew what that bottle was, and he didn't like it. he curled himself further into joo's chest shaking his head "no wed, no wed boddle"

he didn't understand what joo or daddy were telling him, but their faces looked happy. jongho liked when they smiled, he felt a little better.

he opened his mouth as his daddy put something in his mouth and he felt liquid spread in his mouth. it tasted nice so jongho swallowed it. he looked up at joo and daddy and saw their happy faces again.

seeing his daddies smile makes jongho feel like a good boy. jongho curled into his daddies sides, joo giving him his baby blue blanket and daddy giving him his teddy bear.

jongho went back to sleep and this time had no bad dreams. he felt safe with his daddies with him.


	5. the aquarium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jongho's first visit to the aquarium 🥺

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there may or may not be spelling mistakes but please ignore this I wrote this in my notes anyway pls enjoy

"seonghwa! we need to leave now or we won't get any good spots!" hongjoong shouted down the hallway, waiting for the pair to appear.

"we're coming!" seonghwa's voice came from jongho's room "'addy way!" he could hear jongho shout as well.

hongjoong grabbed his backpack "don't be teaching him to tell me wait, park!"

the duo appeared not even a few seconds later, jongho waddling over to the living room. hongjoong couldn't help but coo at what his baby was wearing; how seonghwa coordinated his outfit to match his daddies.

"I swear you are just too cute!" hongjoong leaned down to pinch the boys chubby cheeks, causing the baby to erupt into giggles.

"do you have everything?" seonghwa did a double take of the counter and around the room 

"yes I have everything he'll need or want in my bag, now let's go!" hongjoong squealed, jongho looked up at his daddy and copied his actions. whenever joo was happy, so was he. 

the trio left the house and made their way to seonghwa's car.

"how do you think he'll react?" hongjoong questions, taking jongho out of the carseat, reaching over for his bag as well.

seonghwa shrugged "I've never taken him to an aquarium before, so this should definitely be eventful. either he'll be happy and enjoying it, or he'll be scared and hide himself in our shirts."

hongjoong didn't seem to give it too much thought, looking down at the baby by his feet. jongho was standing next to hongjoong but looking up at seonghwa, his eyes wide and shiny. 

hongjoong loves how he catches moments like these- just jongho looking at seonghwa and is fascinated by what he's doing, even if it's just locking the car door. he wonders what's going on in his little mind when he looks at his daddy.

"alright, my babies, let's go!" seonghwa led the way, only to be stopped by a certain tiny voice calling him. "'addy han!"

seonghwa turns around to see jongho holding hongjoong's hand and his other one reaching out for his dad, making grabby hands.

seonghwa let out a breathy laugh "how silly of daddy to forget, huh?" he grabbed his son's hand, the couple making their way into the building with their baby.

  
seonghwa is surprised how fascinated jongho seems to be with all the sea animals around him. he definitely snapped a few pictures of jongho holding a starfish, petting a manta ray, and even pressing his nose up on the glass of the seahorses; albeit, hongjoong was there to encourage him to try it. seonghwa noticed that whenever hongjoong did something, jongho followed.

seonghwa holds jongho's hand as they make their way to the dolphins. "look how pretty they are!" he picks up jongho so he can see from his height.

jongho cant help but gasped "pea, pea" seonghwa hums "yes, baby, they're so pretty, huh?"

hongjoong stood next to seonghwa, holding his free hand. the taller smiled down at his boyfriend, squeezing his hand tighter. hongjoong wasn't too crazy over PDA so seonghwa kept it minimal, for his sake.

"there's still one exhibit left...the sharks!" hongjoong exclaimed, jongho copying his enthusiasm.

seonghwa only playfully shook his head, letting hongjoong lead the way, but not before putting his baby down, watching him waddle up to hongjoong and grabbed his already waiting hand.

hongjoong slows his pace down, letting jongho take a moment to absorb his surroundings "are you ready, baby?" jongho jumped up and down, balancing himself on hongjoong's leg

hongjoong moved over so jongho can see the sharks behind the glass. jongho's reaction was expected by seonghwa, he makes his way behind hongjoong's leg "'addy" he whimpers.

seonghwa can see no tears falling down but know that they'll definitely be some of the shark comes too close for jongho's liking.

true to his words, the shark did come a little too close to the glass, and all seonghwa could hear was his baby bursting into tears.

"'addy 'addy!" jongho let out a whine.

seonghwa scooped him up in his arms, gently rocking his upset baby. "I know it was scary, huh? daddy made you look at the sharks and you got scared, didn't you?"

jongho chewed on the fabric of seonghwa's shirt, while holding hongjoong's hand.

"hey, don't be making me look like the bad guy!" hongjoong exclaimed up at the taller.

his boyfriend just kissed the top of his head "don't get so worked up, babes, see look he's looking up at the shark now anyway"

the shorter looks at their baby, seeing his wide, and a little puffy, eyes staring up at the shark swimming around. he still has a strong grip on hongjoong's hand but nonetheless, looks up in fascination.

"I think that's all the excitement he can handle for one day, let's go to the park so we can have lunch. how does that sound, baby, are you hungry?" seonghwa tickles jongho's stomach for emphasis.

jongho giggles "wan food peas!"

"alright, you heard the baby, let's go" hongjoong walks by seonghwa's side, jongho still holding his hand as they make their way out the building and into their car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> request if you'd like to see anything! ❤


	6. books, books galore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a look into a day with seonghwa and jongho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls enjoy ❤❤

today it was just seonghwa and jongho.

he decided to take him out to his favorite place- the bookstore. seonghwa doesn't understand why he loves books but he isn't going to question it. in jongho's room he has a whole shelf of books, from hard covers to the sensory ones that make noise. he absolutely finds it so endearing that his baby already has a fascination with books.

seonghwa gets up from his bed and makes his way to jongho's room to get their day started.

-

as soon as seonghwa and jongho make their way up to the bookstore, jongho is squealing at the familiar sight of the glowing sign, clapping his hands excitedly. jongho holds onto his father's hand, seonghwa letting jongho lead the way.

"alright, baby, where do you want to look at first?" seonghwa asks him. he looks down to see jongho's eyes become wider as he looks all the over the store. it's pretty empty, as it's a school day- which seonghwa is grateful for, he can only handle the sound of his own son crying not anyone else's.

jongho waddles over the kid's section first, the bright and colorful display boards grabbing his attention. jongho lets go of seonghwa's hand, grabbing as many books as his small hands can grab- which is only 3- and looks up to his father.

"peas 'addy?" jongho asks, and who is seonghwa to tell him no? the baby makes his way over to one of the fuzzy carpets against the wall, plopping down holding the books up. seonghwa follows, picking up jongho and placing him on his lap, grabbing the first book jongho holds out for him.

jongho proudly holds some of the books he wants to bring home while walking closely next to seonghwa, walking around the store one last time. they pass by the stationary, when jongho places the books down and waddles over, trying to reach something on a high shelf. 

seonghwa picks up the books he put down, looking up to where jongho is reaching up to.

"for joo, for joo peas" seonghwa coos at what jongho is trying to reach for- a large painting kit. he takes it off the shelf as jongho starts clapping "for joo, 'addy!"

seonghwa smiles "you want to buy this for your joo? that's so sweet, baby, let's go buy it for him. here, hold your books so daddy can hold this"

jongho clutches his books to his chest, staying near seonghwa's side.

a few hours later, seonghwa is holding the bag of books and the painting kit while jongho slowly munches on a chocolate chip cookie. seonghwa rarely gives him sweets, so the few occasions where he does recieve them, he savors it very slowly.

"are you ready to go home, jongho? let's go see if joo is home so we can show him his present!" jongho only nods, too absorbed in his cookie.

the car ride is pretty quick as he just misses the rush of everyone coming home from work. he pulls into his driveway to see hongjoong's car parked next to space where he parks.

"look, jongho, joo is home!" seonghwa only hears jongho gasp and fiddle with his seatbelt, whining when he can't get it off of him. seonghwa turns off the car unbuckles himself then makes his way to unbuckle jongho out of his carseat. jongho bounces in excitement as he waits for seonghwa to give him the bag of his books.

jongho tries his best to bring the bag inside, but ultimately decides to drag the bag behind him. seonghwa unlocks the front door, lifiting jongho up past the stairs and into the house, helping him take off his shoes, before runnin around with the bag stll in his clutch.

"joo! joo! joo! spies spies!" jongho shouts all throughout the house. hongjoong appears a few moments later, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"welcome back!" hongjoong almost loses his balance when jongho runs into him, hongjoong picks him up and spins him around "hi my baby! oh joo missed you so much!" he kisses all over his face, jongho basks in the affection returning some of the kisses back. he places him back down, watching him toddle over to the bag he dropped.

hongjoong makes his way over to seonghwa, who wraps his arms the taller's neck "how was your day, baby?"

seonghwa smiles "it was fun, how was yours?"

hongjoong only shakes his head "it was good, I'm just glad to be home with my babies" seonghwa leans into his boyfriend, kissing him softly.

"'addy my book my book!" jongho exclaims, bouncing on his feet.

"you got books?! come sit and show joo your books, baby" hongjoong exclaimed

the trio sat on the carpet in the living room, jongho sitting next to seonghwa, hongjoong sitting in front of them. jongho struggled to get the books out of the bag, but was proud of himself when he figured it out on his own. he proudly held up each book for hongjoong to look at. hongjoong expressing different emotions for each one, he wants jongho to feel excited about getting and reading books.

"'addy, spies spies. no look" jongho looks serious, as serious as his chubby cheeks will let him. hongjoong furrows his eyebrows looking over to his boyfriend "he got you a surprise" hongjoong nods, covering his eyes with his hands.

"okay, baby, go show daddy what you got him" seonghwa helps jongho take the painting kit out of the bag and helps him place it in front of hongjoong's crossed legs.

"open 'addy!" hongjoong slowly opens his eyes and looks down at his feet. he feels warmth burst into his chest, tears pooling his eyes. he feels so happy knowing that even when he isn't with him, jongho still thinks about him. "oh jongho..." hongjoong puts his head down, trying but ultimately failing to hide his tears.

jongho stands up next to seonghwa, a low whine under his breath. "'addy no cry" he whimpers, running over to hongjoong, and wraps his little arms around hongjoong's neck. hongjoong hides in jongho's neck, sniffling.

"as soon as he saw it, he was so set on getting it for you" seonghwa explains, a smile growing on his face; hongjoong just holds him tighter.

"'addy no sad" jongho's voice wavers as he begins to cry as well. he never likes seeing his daddy's cry, and will start crying himself if he sees them do so.

"oh, baby, no joo isn't sad, he's crying because he's happy! joo loves your gift. thank you very much, baby, this means a lot" hongjoong reassured the upset baby.

"i uv you, 'addy" jongho holds hongjoong's face in his own and smooches his lips.

"seonghwa, your baby is making me feel too many emotions, i can't right now!" hongjoong wailed dramatically. seonghwa laughs as he gently lifts jongho back next to his side again, rubbing the boys back soothingly.

jongho fusses, going straight back to hongjoong, hugging him tight "'addy peas no cry" jongho stomps his foot in frustration, seeing hongjoong still crying.

seonghwa decides it's time for him to step in, sliding over to hongjoong to bring him in his arms "please no more tears, jongho is getting frustrated because you're still crying" he kisses his temple, rubbing his back.

hongjoong composes himself rather quickly, for jongho's sake. jongho waddles back over to him "no mo sad?"

the blonde boy smiles "no more sad, baby" kissing the baby on his cheek reassuringly.

"i say we all sleep in daddy's bed tonight, how does that sound?" seonghwa's response is hongjoong sniffling and jongho clapping excitedly.


	7. the doctor's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jongho's trip to the doctors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls enjoy ❤❤❤

seonghwa always loves taking jongho out with him if he needed to go to the store or the mall or just to walk around the town, but there was one place he dreaded taking jongho the most- the doctors.

it was friday- jongho's annual checkup, the day that seonghwa has been dreading ever since he saw it circled on the calendar. hongjoong always laughs at him, claiming he's being dramatic; he's just glad it's a day that hongjoong leaves work early to go with seonghwa to his appointment. he wants to truly show hongjoong that sometimes jongho isn't always this sweet cuddly baby he's grown to love.

as they take jongho out of his carseat, seonghwa and hongjoong hold both his hands, his little legs trying to keep up with the tall adults, as they make their way into the building. jongho is distracted momentarily, seonghwa letting go of his hand to check him in and takes a seat next to hongjoong; jongho sitting peacefully on his lap, trying to have a conversation with hongjoong.

he points to his daddy "my 'addy"

"yes, baby that's your daddy"

he points to hongjoong "my joo"

hongjoong smiles again "yes, baby, i'm your joo" lightly kissing his nose. seonghwa holds his hand out for jongho to take, to which the baby gladly accepts.

they wait patiently until a nurse announces jongho's name. hongjoong places him down, the two lovers holding each hand of jongho, walking with him to the back rooms.

seonghwa picks him up and places him on the bench, holding his hand. hongjoong stands to the side as he watches the nurse ask seonghwa questions about his son.

"thank you, mr. park, the doctor will be in shortly" she smiles down at jongho to which he smiles back.

hongjoong looks at seonghwa "that is what you're so worried about?" he snorts

"just you wait, baby, wait until he has to get his shots... then you'll know what i'm talking about" seonghwa looks so smug and if they weren't in a doctors office, let alone in front of jongho, hongjoong would want to kiss that smirk off his face.

the door opens to reveal jongho's pediatrition. "ah, mr.park, so glad to see you"

"hello doctor, it's nice to see you as well. this is hongjoong, he's jongho's other father"

hongjoong can't hide the smile knowing that seonghwa introduces him as not only his boyfriend, but jongho's father as well "hi! it's nice to meet you!" he sounds way too giddy, he can't help it. seonghwa's comment made him turn into a kid in a candy store.

"nice to meet you as well...and how's my little guy doing?"

"he's been good, his usual bubbly self" seonghwa smiles at hongjoong when he answers.

the doctor comes closer to jongho, checking his heart, his breathing, along with inside his ears and mouth. jongho's smile fades away and a prominent pout forms instead, whining lowly when the doctor came too close to him, and leaning towards seonghwa.

"alright, jongho, this is the part we've all been waiting for, i'll be right back to get the shots ready" the doctor leaves the room, and they swear they can hear a sigh leave jongho's mouth.

seonghwa holds jongho's hand more for him to keep calm than jongho, who is completely oblivious for what's about to happen.

"honey, what's wrong? are you alright?" hongjoong placesa hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, gives it a gentle squeeze.

"you know how i feel about seeing him in pain..." seonghwa mumbles as he distracts himself by straightening jongho's shirt.

hongjoong couldn't help but coo "awwwe, baby, that's very sweet" he gives him a peck on the lips, letting his lips linger for a second or two "jongho is very blessed and lucky to have you as his father"

before seonghwa could return the kiss, the doctor walks in with a small tray of two needles.

"alright, are we all ready?" hongjoong nods, seonghwa keeps his eyes on jongho. jongho plays with seonghwa's fingers as he watches the doctor open an alcoholic wipe and disinfect his arm.

hongjoong can't help but feel a little nervous as he remembers what seonghwa told him about jongho freaking out badly. he shyly grips seonghwa's arm, looking like he's the one about to cry. seonghwa only places a reassuring kiss on his boyfriend's head.

"okay, here we go" the doctor announces as he places the needle onto jongho's arm. jongho tries to scoot away and into his daddy's arms, but seonghwa holds him in place.

"'addy, no boo boo" jongho whines as the needle is inserted into his arm. his face contours in pain, squirming as seonghwa has to hold him in place, trying to calm his son down. hongjoong decides to just hold jongho's hand, he doesn't want jongho to squirm too much and the needle moves.

in a second, the needle is out and a band-aid is placed on his forearm. seonghwa shushes him and jongho cries very much loudly in the small room, burying himself in his dad's chest. the three adults have to take a moment, as jongho's cries echo within the closed room.

"it's almost over, baby, i promise, it's almost over" seonghwa kisses the top of his head numerous of times. jongho looks over to hongjoong, whimpering "no boo boo, joo, no boo boo"

hongjoong feels powerless "i'm sorry baby, you're almost done. stay with daddy, he's right there with you"

"joo is right here, too, baby" seonghwa reassures the crying baby. hongjoong kisses jongho's head, as the doctor prepares the last shot on his thigh.

jongho begins to get fussy, kicking his legs as he sees where the doctor is going. hongjoong has never heard jongho cry this hard or quiet frankly, this loud. he's never seen jongho kick at someone either. he's too frustrated to form any words so he thrashes harder, wanting to get away form the scary doctor and cuddle with daddy and joo. hongjoong now realizes what seonghwa was talking about- he thinks back on the all the times seonghwa had to do this alone.

"baby, don't kick your legs, you're almost done. i promise, daddy and joo are here, baby" seonghwa reassures the exhausted 1 year old. the father wraps his arm his shoulder, burying him closer to his chest, hongjoong gently holds his leg and rubs it soothingly; which helps jongho calm down to an extent, the doctor now taking this as a que to give him the shot.

once jongho feels the needle go in, he tries to pull his leg away, hongjoong gently keeps it in place and before they know it, the doctor places a bandaid on his thigh.

seonghwa scoops up jongho, taking his baby blue blanket out of hongjoong's backpack and places it over his frazzled baby. "i know, baby, they hurt you didn't they? how could they do that to you? my precious jongho, oh daddy is so sorry" hongjoong can't help but playfully roll his eyes and he talks dramatically to his son who isn't even listening, his loud cries being muffled by seonghwa's hoodie.

the doctor smiles warmly "it was nice meeting you hongjoong, mr. park i will be seeing you all in 4 months for another checkup. have a good day" and exits the room quietly.

seonghwa rocks jongho, who's hiccuping from all the crying he did. he's running his hands through the blanket and babbles quietly to himself. hongjoong places a hand on his side "are you ready to go home, baby?" hongjoong's voice is quiet so as not to disrupt the shaken baby.

seonghwa nods and heads towards the door, but not before kissing his boyfriend "do you believe me now?"

"oh big time" the pair smile at the baby in seonghwa's arms, heading out towards their car.

a few hours after they came home from the doctors office, hongjoong is using the paint set he received from jongho. he goes out to stretch his limbs and to refill his water container. as he makes his way into the kitchen, he notices it's faintly quiet. he puts the container on the counter and looks around for where his boyfriend and baby could be.

hongjoong peaks into jongho's room, see it's empty. he walks down the hall to peak into their bedroom and has to stop himself from squealing too loud.

he sees jongho sleeping with his daddy, his blanket curled into jongho's hands. jongho's body is curled into seonghwa's chest, sucking on his teddy bears ear. seonghwa keeps a protective arm around the sleeping jongho, making hongjoong smile; even when he's sleeping, he's still protective of his son. he fishes for his phone out of his back pocket and snaps a few pictures.

hongjoong takes this moment to just stare lovingly at the father and son sleeping peacefully on the bed. hongjoong can't help but think how much this baby and his father have utterly and completely changed his life for the better.

how it must have been for the pair before hongjoong entered their lives.

how seonghwa is always so protective of jongho.

how he almost lost him before he was given a chance into this world.

if hongjoong could describe what the word _love_ meant, he would use seonghwa and jongho as an example.


	8. lil pumpkin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a fluff chapter of the couple gushing over jongho's costume.

seonghwa pushes the cart down the aisle, his eyes growing wide like a kid in a candy store.

his eyes don't know what to focus on first; all the glittery decorations pass by him in a whim.

his favorite season has finally arrived- _autumn_. seonghwa is a big sucker for the fall weather and what month october brings- trees changing colors, piles of leaves to jump into, the chilly mornings, and of course- _halloween!_

  
the father looks down at his son, who's munching on his teddy bear's ear; absorbed in his own little world. if seonghwa remembers one thing, it's that jongho shares the same love for fall just as much as his father does, something he's utterly grateful for.

they (more of seonghwa) spend the new 2 hours filling the cart up with table decorations and a costume that jongho couldn't get his eyes off- a little pumpkin.

seonghwa can't wait to see what jongho will look like in the puffy costume, he makes his way over to the checkout and begins paying for what he has in the cart.

seonghwa opens the door with a bit of a hassle, it's not easy when you're carrying 5 bags of decorations. jongho holds his teddy bear under his arm and the costume bag in both hands.

he waddles over to the couch, placing his items down before running back to his father "help 'addy?" he looks up as he asks his dad.

"of course, baby, come with me in the kitchen" seonghwa carries the bags and places them on the dining table; then picks up jongho and places him on the table as well- not before warning jongho to be careful and not crawl around.

seonghwa takes everything out of the plastic bags and stores them far away from jongho "alright, baby, what should we hang up first?"

jongho looks mesmerized by all the glittery decorations in front of him, mouth hanging open.

"pun'in!" jongho points to the pile of fake pumpkins, all different sizes and shapes.

"alright!" much to his child's dismay, he places jongho back on the floor, crossing his arms. "don't be sulky, I know it's not fair to be short. maybe you'll grow up to be tall like me and not your daddy"

seonghwa laughs to himself triumphantly, for once he made a height joke and didn't receive a slap to the arm. jongho just looks up at his daddy before taking his bear and sit by the window, watching the wind blow all the leaves away.

seonghwa places the last of the decorations- an orange and yellow bouquet he places on the dining table. he sighs as he looks around the room- _his masterpiece_ \- as he now calls it with a huge smile on his face.

"'addy home! 'addy home!" the little voice squeals out, sliding down the couch and running to the door.

seonghwa finishes cleaning up all the wrappings and glitter that fell as he hears his son scream in joy seeing his daddy.

"'addy!" jongho screams as he open his arms, running into hongjoong.

hongjoong spins him around "ahh is my baby happy that daddy is home?!" he kisses his chubby cheeks.

"'addy 'ot pun'ins!" jongho couldn't properly form a sentence from all the excitement he was feeling.

he has the same reaction everytime hongjoong or seonghwa come home from work. he doesn't understand concept of time, so when either parent arrive, it's as if they were gone for an eternity.

"slow down, baby, what were you saying? daddy what?" hongjoong runs his hands through his baby's hair

jongho seemed to simmer down at the action "'addy got punkins" he says with a smile in his face.

"good job, baby. daddy got pumpkins? you have to show me!" hongjoong put jongho down as the baby grabbed his hand and pulled him to where seonghwa placed the pumpkins- on the shelves where a certain baby cant reach them.

"oh, daddy did a good job decorating, huh, flower? where is daddy anyway?" hongjoong looks around, pretending he doesn't see seonghwa hiding behind the kitchen counter.

jongho waddles around "'addy?" he looks in the living room and the hallway, sighing when he sees no sign of his father.

he makes his way into the kitchen, just as he rounds the corner, seonghwa jumps out and surprises jongho.

the startled baby plops on his bottom, and hongjoong comes to his side before his face crumbles and tears fall.

"you found daddy, baby!" hongjoong does immediate damage control, watching his baby's face turn from sad to happy. 

he stands up and jumps into his father's arms "'addy!" he plants kisses all over his face, before making himself comfortable in his lap.

"jongho picked out the cutest costume ever. do you wanna show daddy your costume, baby?" seonghwa looks over at his son.

jongho stands up on wobbly legs, pulling seonghwa's arm "'addy go!"

seonghwa stands up and the two disappear in the baby's room.

the pair re-enter the living room a few moments later, hongjoong can hear faint shushes and giggles.

"now before you say anything, I didn't choose this. we were looking down the aisles and he couldn't take his eyes off it. he chose this all by hims-"

"seonghwa stop rambling and let me see jongho's costume!" hongjoong interrupted.

  
seonghwa moved to the side to reveal their baby dressed up in a velvet costume of a pumpkin. he had a long sleeve orange shirt on and orange pants to match and on his head, a little orange beret with a vine twirling around.

hongjoong couldn't help but scream, running up to jongho twirling him around the living room "oh my gosh! my baby! you look so adorable!" hongjoong peppered his face in kisses, making the baby squeal.

"now I know where he gets his energy from..." seonghwa muttered, watching the two twirl around the living room.

"my baby you are so adorable oh my gosh! I could just eat you up!" hongjoong pretended to chomp at jongho's chubby cheeks, elating a loud yelp from the baby.

"seonghwa, our baby is so adorable! ahh I love you so much!" hongjoong puts jongho down, running up to seonghwa and jumping in his arms.

"I. love. you. so. much. oh. my. gosh." hongjoong gave a kiss between each word. 

seonghwa playfully wipes his cheek as he puts his boyfriend down "eww, now I have hongjoong cooties"

said boyfriend only kisses him, but this time its soft and slow "you're stuck with me"

"and I wouldn't have it any other way"

hongjoong moves his attention back to jongho, who's smiling up at his daddies. the pair have noticed that whenever they kiss in front of jongho, he just smiles at them.

"I can't wait until halloween comes! jongho is gonna get bags and bags full of candy. he's gonna be the town's cutest pumpkin they've ever seen!" 

hongjoong coos at his baby, watching as jongho's cheeks turn red from all the attention he oh so loves receiving from his daddies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy halloween! remember to stay safe and have fun 😊


	9. baby, come home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seonghwa has been spending more time at work than home. let all the tantrums and chaos errupt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> requested by @mytinyrosestay ❤
> 
> (hopefully this is what you've imagined when you requested this. i also apologize as i feel like the ending was a little rushed but please enjoy nonetheless.)

hongjoong looks at the phone buzzing on the kitchen counter, already knowing who could possibly be texting him at this time. he unlocks his phone, opening the message

_**my seonghwa 💖:** _

i don't know if you're still up but i'm gonna be coming home late again, i'm sorry. please give jongho lots of kisses goodnight for me. i love you 💕

hongjoong sighed.

it's been the same routine for the past 2 weeks- seonghwa working late meaning he has to take care of jongho himself.

hongjoong isn't one to complain, he absolutely adores his baby, but once in a while he just wants a night to himself- especially when a certain 1 year old has been throwing the worst tantrums hongjoong has ever seen. the only thing that gets him to calm down is promises that his daddy will come home. and hongjoong feels terrible for bribing his baby with empty promises.

the tantrums were small ones at first- jongho simply just stomping his feet but eventually caving in. but now it's risen to jongho purposely throwing pillows off the couch, knocking his toys over refusing to pick any of them up to kicking and fussing for bathtime and diaper changes (hongjoong is just glad he has quick reflexes in that moment or he feels he would've ended up with multiple bruises on his arm)

hongjoong has noticed this behavior has continued when he's at daycare. his teacher informing hongjoong for the past week of jongho's behavior; how he's always telling his teachers no, being fussy and not napping during naptime, and how he doesn't interact with the other babies.

this has been their new routine. normally seonghwa would watch over him- while hongjoong does what he needs to do to enjoy his alone time- feed and bathe him, then bring him in his room to help him soothe to sleep.

the couple was just starting the routine of getting jongho to sleep in his own crib and not their bed almost every single night. while hongjoong protests he loves to have his baby close to him while he's sleeping, seonghwa would reason that it would be nice if they can enjoy some alone time once in a while.

the first few nights were rough, jongho screaming and crying his little lungs out until he tired himself out, only to repeat the same thing the next night. hongjoong thinks that it was finally setting in; but the first night seonghwa didn't come home couldn't compare to the first tantrum jongho threw at the late hours of night.

hongjoong definitely knows jongho's behaving this way because seonghwa isn't home- it's always been the two of them taking turns with jongho's nighttime routine, but with one of them being out of the house, it causes little jongho to become frustrated- and hongjoong can't blame him.

just as much as jongho misses his daddy, hongjoong misses his boyfriend. he misses someone to talk to about his day, he misses the moments where the three of them would cuddle on the couch watching jongho doze in and out of sleep in their arms; but he mainly misses the warmth of his boyfriend while trying to sleep.

tossing and turning from how empty and off he feels to hearing jongho cry for his daddy in the next room, hongjoong can admit that's the first night he went to sleep with tear tracks down his cheeks and puffy eyes the next morning.

hongjoong makes his way to his baby's room, the creak of the door slowly waking up the sleeping baby, silently praying that his son will wake up in a good mood. he decides to wake him up slowly; holding him in his arms with his blanket draped over his back. the soft noises of jongho sucking his pacifier the only sound in the room.

"hi baby" hongjoong greets gently

jongho stirs a little, clenching a chubby fist between his blanket

it's quiet between the two of them, hongjoong internally prays that maybe jongho will remain in this calm state all day- but he mentally cursed himself as he knows he jinxed it.  
  
"'addy" jongho mumbles around his pacifier, pointing to the door.

hongjoong already knows that this is his way of asking for seonghwa, to which he can only sigh.  
  
"I'm sorry baby, daddy isn't home" he places a soft kiss to his head "he's gonna come home later" hongjoong bits his lip anxiously to await jongho's reaction. he mentally prepared himself for another day full of tantrums and fits.  
  
jongho can only place his head back in the crook of his daddy's neck, soft whimpers through his pacifier can be heard.

his whimpers turn into soft crying as hongjoong feels his neck turn wet with all the tears. he feels helpless as he rubs his baby's back trying to soothe him.

that's how it continued for the rest of the morning- jongho refusing to let go of hongjoong for even a split second. (he feels guilty for even leaving him to cry while he uses the bathroom) hongjoong felt his arms start to twinge with pain from holding jongho, but he would just have to suck it up. he'd rather have a sore arm the next morning than a crying baby.

jongho was also starting to refuse meals, bottles were the only trick to get him to eat; much to hongjoong's dismay, he'd prefer if he ate food and not just drink from a bottle.

it was around noon when it was time for jongho's afternoon nap. hongjoong was sitting idly on the couch with jongho curled into his side. he was absentmindedly playing with the loose string from his blanket, his pacifier placed in his mouth.

much to jongho's knowledge, hongjoong sighed for umpteenth time, tossing his phone on the end table. he can see that seonghwa is reading his messages but he isn't replying to them; a tell tale sign that he knows he's alive.

he looks down at the baby in his arms. how their once bright and bubbly baby is now a replica of hongjoong's shadow; refusing to leave his side at all costs. feeling hopeless, hongjoong can only cradle the baby closer to his chest. the baby is the closest thing he has to his boyfriend just as much as hongjoong is to jongho.

soft mumbles interrupted his train of thought, looking down he sees jongho look up at him with wide eyes.

"what did you say, baby?" hongjoong gently strokes his head in affection

"'addy 'uv me?"

hongjoong's actions faltered as he processed what his son just told him. he barely has any time to blink away the tears forming before scooping his baby in his arms.

"daddy loves you, jongho" his voice wavers, watches as a tear drop manages to escape and lands on his baby's head "don't ever forget that. daddy is just busy lately. i promise daddy loves you and so do i"

placing a kiss on his temple, hongjoong rocks his body side to side, gently lulling his baby to sleep.

hongjoong can only feel one emotion out of the multiple ones he's feeling: _anger._

their son should never have to ask of their father still loves him just because he isn't home as much as he used to. this was the last straw for hongjoong. as much as he hates it, he can handle seonghwa not being home but when it starts to affect their son, making him question if his own father still loves him, that's when hongjoong draws the line.

as he retrieves his phone, he begins to take a deep breath. he needs to think about what he's going to say, and not just what he feels in the heat of the moment.

**_ hongjoong: _ **

we need to talk, i don't care what time you come home but just do it.

he holds the phone in his hands for a few more moments, watching three little dots appear, giving hongjoong a ray of hope.

**_ my seonghwa 💖: _ **

i'll make it home as early as i can

i promise

he decides to leave the message as is and not respond. there's a small part of him that feels guilt for being straightforward and cold towards seonghwa, but he needs to look at the bigger picture; seonghwa being absent from home is affecting jongho just as much as it's affecting him. even if it was a short text, he wants seonghwa to pick up his message.

he places his phone down, staring out the window holding jongho closer (if possible) to his chest.

\--

hongjoong can faintly hear the bedroom door creak open, he knows he should be alert and check to see who it is; but in his sleepy and groggy state, he has a gut feeling that it's his boyfriend entering the room. and he's thankful for all his stars that it is and not an intruder.

he slowly sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes. he focuses his eyesight on the man standing in front of him, then turns to click his phone on. _10:30 p.m_

"i see you finally decided to come home" his throat hurts from not being used in a few hours, swallowing to hopefully ease it.

seonghwa sheepishly stands by the door, fiddling with his hands "i came home early"

"seonghwa, we need to talk. come sit" hongjoong crossed his arms, watching seonghwa oh so carefully make his way on hongjoong's side of the bed (he doesn't comment on his boyfriend sleeping on his side of the bed, if he should even call it that now)

hongjoong turns to face his boyfriend, feeling the tears start to form. he's thankful that now he has the time to blink them away "seonghwa... you haven't been home for 2 weeks. do you know much that's been affecting me let alone jongho? he's been throwing tantrums that i've never imagined he can do, at home and at school. he's been refusing to eat food and only accepts bottles, which you know im not too fond of. jongho has been wanting me to hold him at all times, and you know how he gets when he's in the mood to be held, he will refuse to let me go."

he pauses, watching seonghwa's eyes droop down. there's that small part of him again, trying to convince him to comfort seonghwa, but he forces himself to shake that thought away momentarily. he needs seonghwa to understand that this is unacceptable and for jongho, he needs both parents present.

"you know earlier he asked me...if daddy still loves him" seonghwa's head shot up. with the light casted down by the moon, hongjoong can see the faint shine of tears pooling by his eyes.

"h-he really said that?" seonghwa's voice faltered.

hongjoong nodded, slowly taking his boyfriend's hand in his "i know how you can get all wrapped up in work, but jongho needs both of us here with him. please do this for not only us but for your son. he needs his father the most"

silence filled the room for a brief moment followed by the rustling of bedsheets as seonghwa rushed to pull hongjoong into his arms.

hongjoong let seonghwa hold him, not caring that he felt fat teardrops slide into the crook of his neck.

"i'm so sorry, i'm so sorry" seonghwa chanted like a mantra, his words being muffled as he hid his face. "i'm so sorry. i don't know what came over me. ever since i had jongho i always promised myself to keep work at the office and never bring it home. but now i wasn't even coming home. what kind of father am i?"

hongjoong rubbed his back ever so gently "seonghwa don't ever doubt yourself. you're an amazing father i never want you to forget that. you work so you can provide for your family, there's nothing wrong with that. and since i'm here now, if you need to, you can bring your work home. but please don't ever coop yourself in your office like that ever again. the only sign i got that you were alive was you read my messages, and that scared me."

seonghwa sniffled "i didn't mean to scare you, nor to just leave jongho with you 24/7. i know you get a little cranky when you don't get any time to yourself." hongjoong let out a soft chuckle, earning him a kiss on his forehead.

seonghwa sat up straight, fixing his posture "you know what? i'm gonna take the week off next week, for jongho and you as well." his fished his phone out of his pocket. hongjoong didn't even have any time to protest, because not even a few minutes later seonghwa types away at his phone then shuts it off.

"seonghwa...you didn't have to do that" hongjoong reasoned.

seonghwa only shushed him by pressing his lips onto his boyfriends "i needed to do this. i missed my babies"

the sound of cries can be heard just as the pair were about to indulge in the comfort of one another. seonghwa shoots up first, leaving hongjoong with his eyes closed and lips in mid-pucker.

"i'll go get him" one last kiss on hongjoong's cheek and seonghwa leaves the room.

hongjoong takes a deep breath, for once smiling in the past 2 weeks. he's so happy to finally have seonghwa back home, to finally go back into their routine. he feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders- for jongho's sake. he can't imagine how the poor baby must've felt not having seonghwa home. even though seonghwa always says he's always clingy to hongjoong, the smaller knows deep down that the love jongho has for his father will never change.

his train of thought was interrupted by the bedroom door opening followed by the giggles of his baby. it brings tears to hongjoong's eyes, as he hasn't heard his baby this happy in a while.

seonghwa sits on the bed with jongho curled into his lap, his little chubby fingers gripping ever so tightly on his father's shirt.

hongjoong smiles "daddy is home, baby" causing jongho to erupt into a fit of giggles

"i say we all go to sleep in daddy's bed, what do you say, baby?" seonghwa pointed the question towards jongho, already knowing the answer.

"'addy! 'addy! 'addy!" jongho squealed already taking his favorite position, in-between his two fathers- sleepy smiles plastered on their faces.

and even though both parents were setting the routine for jongho to start sleeping on his own, hongjoong decides that today they can fall back into their habit.

after all, seonghwa and hongjoong need jongho sleeping next to them just as much as their baby does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave requests for anything you'd like to see!


	10. hongjoong's birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> celebrating hongjoong's birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this last night but I ended up falling asleep as I was writing it. these past 2 weeks have been a little rough but please enjoy this update 😌❤

hongjoong was woken up by the feeling of wet kisses on his face, the sound of giggling hitting his ears.

he opened his eyes to see his baby kissing his face, smushing his cheeks together.

"'addy 'irday!" jongho babbles through his kisses.

hongjoong could only return the giggles and kisses his baby is giving him, then holds him in his arms.

"thank you, my sweet baby" hongjoong replied, pressing his forehead to jongho's.

the bedroom door opens, revealing seonghwa holding a tray of breakfast foods and a little sippy cup.

"good morning my birthday baby" seonghwa places a tender kiss to his soft lips "today is your special day, so I made a tray of all your favorite breakfast foods. I know it's not much, but I can't help it if you're so picky with breakfast"

hongjoong smiled warmly, leaning into seonghwa's kisses "this is perfect, my dear, thank you so much"

as hongjoong begins to dig in, he looks over at jongho with his mouth open, drool slowly starting to pool at the corner of his mouth.

"I knew he would do that so I made him something as well." seonghwa hands jongho his bowl of dry cereal and his sippy cup.

the trio enjoy their breakfast in bed, hongjoong sneaking little bits of his ripped toast to jongho who gladly shoved it in his mouth.

"I wish I can stay like this all day, but unfortunately I have to get ready for work" hongjoong grumbles, moving the tray to their end table.

"dont worry, baby, today is gonna be an amazing day" seonghwa smiles, glances at jongho sneaking into hongjoong's spot as he gets out of bed.

hongjoong wraps his arms around his boyfriend's neck "I'm holding onto that promise" slow kisses are exchanged "thank you for the breakfast by the way"

hongjoong turns around to face jongho, pinching his cheeks "and thank you my sweet little precious baby, for waking me up in the best way posssible" 

jongho giggles as he curls in on himself, basking in the attention from his daddy.

hongjoong grabs his bag but not before being pulled into a pair of strong arms

"have a good day today, baby, I'll see you later" seonghwa nuzzled his face in hongjoong's neck, placing kisses here and there.

hongjoong smiles warmly "thank you, baby"

he turns around to face seonghwa- he doesn't need to look closely to see the love in his eyes. he can't help but lean forward to kiss his boyfriend, he'll never get tired of this; the gentle touches, the sweet kisses, the love that's in the air. 

hongjoong can tell this us going to be a good birthday.

\--

hongjoong pulls the car into the driveway, letting out a long sigh.

'what a day today was' he thought

he recieved so many gifts here and there from his coworkers and also his babies in his classroom. he can't wait to go inside and tell his boyfriend that he was right- today was actually a really good day.

unlocking the front door, hongjoong feels eerie as its quiet in the small house. he places his bag down, toes his shoes off, before he makes his way into the living room.

"seonghwa!" hongjoong shouts "are you home?"

no response.

hongjoong lightly scratches his head, feeling his high hopes begin to dwindle. 

'maybe he's out buying me a present' he reasons

as he makes his way to the couch, he feels a pair of arms wrap around him, his face being attacked with kisses.

"happy birthday, baby" his boyfriend's deep voice flows in his ear, making him duck his head down in excitement.

hongjoong pulls his arms away, facing his boyfriend, only to be picked up bridal style and spun around the room.

"ahh seonghwa!" hongjoong shrieks, gripping tightly around seonghwa's neck. seonghwa is too busy to hear hongjoong as he gingerly leaves trails of kisses to his neck.

seonghwa stops his actions to gaze into hongjoong's eyes "you're so beautiful, do you know that?"

a goofy smile makes it's way onto hongjoong's face "yes" he lightly hits his boyfriend's chest "because a certain someone tells me every single day"

seonghwa places him down "good. now I would normally let you open your other presents and present you with your cake but there's something that has to be given first and I simply cant wait any longer" he gently squeezes his shoulder "jongho! come here, baby"

hongjoong turns to the hallway, hearing the faint waddling of his baby's socked feet. his face breaks into a wide smile seeing his daddy.

"'addy 'addy!" jongho puts the bag he was holding down to run up to hongjoong's leg, hugging it with all his might.

hongjoong smiles "hi my little precious baby" he kneels down to give him a kiss on his head.

"jongho, give daddy the bag" seonghwa smiles, a small bounce in his step and he stands behind his son.

jongho grabs the bag with two little hands, placing it in front of his father.

seonghwa sits on the floor, jongho occupying his lap; gesturing for hongjoong to do the same. "go ahead, open it"

  
hongjoong looks up at seonghwa, afraid to make a move. seonghwa encourages him to take the small bag, and with shaky hands he slowly reaches for it.

opening it, he sees a small box, and immediately hongjoong gasps, shaking his head.

"seonghwa..."

"open it, baby"

it was like time was frozen as hongjoong pulled open the box and revealed a ring. hongjoong looks up at seonghwa's warm eyes.

seonghwa takes out the ring and holds hongjoong's left hand "I know I'm gonna mix my words together but I really want you to know how much you mean to me and how important you are. everyday I feel so happy and blessed knowing you're in my life. you're such a ray of sunshine, there's never a dull moment when you're in the room. you always know what to do or say in any situation. I know jongho is going to grow up well with you by my side raising him. I want everyone to know that I am deeply grateful for you and all you do...hongjoong, I'm giving you this promise ring as a promise I will always be there for you no matter what we go through or face, we can conquer anything and I promise I'll always be by your side. hongjoong, I love you. happy birthday, my love"

hongjoong stared at seonghwa as he placed the promise ring on his finger. he was utterly speechless, all thoughts jumbled in his brain that are turning to mush as he's looking right into seonghwa's eyes.

all hongjoong could do was hug seonghwa, wrapping his arms around his waist tightly. they stayed like that for what felt like forever, the two of them just staying in each other's warmth.

hongjoong moved his face into seonghwa's neck, sighing contently. hongjoong knew in this moment, this is the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

"seonghwa...I dont have any words...except i love you, too. you've changed my life so much for the better, you've given me so much happiness I feel like I could burst. you make me feel like I can do anything. you let me come in your life and raise your child with you, I have no words to say how blessed I feel to have jongho in my life and since the beginning I've always treated him like my own and I always will no matter what. thank you for everything you've done for me to be where I am now, happy and full of love."

seonghwa chuckled softly as he watched hongjoong face crumble, tears falling down his cheeks. "d'awh, baby, don't cry" he scoops his boyfriend up (he's lucky to have such a tiny boyfriend) and places him in his lap.

jongho waddles over to hongjoong, wiping his tears "'addy no sad" he kisses him on the nose, making hongjoong burst more into a fit of tears.

"I'm not sad, sweetheart, daddy is just so happy" hongjoong shows a watery smile to his baby; jongho looks even more confused than before.

hongjoong only clutches the baby to his side, leaning his head on top of his baby's; eyes gazing fondly at his boyfriend.

"thank you so much for this amazing birthday present. I love you so much" even with his nasally voice and red-rimmed eyes, seonghwa doesn't think it's possible to fall even more in love than he already is.

"I promise I'm always gonna be here for you." a kiss or two is exchanged between the couple. hongjoong feels so much love radiating off seonghwa he thinks he might burst.

"now, you did mention something about cake..." hongjoong smirked

seonghwa gently pats his lower back, helping each other get up off the floor. as seonghwa moves to side, arms gesturing towards the kitchen door "after you, my little birthday boy"

hongjoong dismisses the corny gesture with a wave of his hand, feeling the familiar rise of heat on his cheeks.

"'addy cake!" jongho waddles past them, grabbing both their hands in the process, pulling them into the kitchen for that sugary sweetness he's been waiting for all day.


	11. painting for daddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jongho decides to paint for his daddy (unsupervised)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so when I originally started writing this, I got so caught up that I just wrote a bunch of little one-shots; so throughout the week (mainly maybe wednesday as I'm off from work), I'll be uploading here and there. also feel free to request!! thank you to whoever reads this and supports what I'm writing. ❤❤

seonghwa has decided to be a helpful boyfriend (and productive person) and clean around the house.

while he is away at work, hongjoong will do his best to fit some cleaning time while jongho is sleeping; but he feels like just as he's starting, jongho wakes up from his nap and is recharged of full energy.

so, while hongjoong is at work, seonghwa wanted to surprise and help out a little. hongjoong would probably come home exhausted and he doesn't want his baby to feel the stress of a dirty and dusty house.

seonghwa's next mission: jongho's bedroom. he could get a head start with laundry and replace his clothes now that the temperature is starting to drop, or he could organize his book shelf and re-decorate it. he figures he'd start with the first option, knowing hongjoong would be grateful for the gesture.

he leaves the t.v on, hearing jongho babble to himself here and there; occasionally glancing at him over the couch to make sure he's okay.

  
what the father doesn't know is his baby grew tired of watching t.v and is toddling around, clutching his blanket in his hand. he walks down the hallway and stop at his daddy's bedroom door. he sees the paint jars hongjoong keeps and he feels himself walking in the room- the bright colors grab his attention.

he suddenly is in the mood to paint, but usually does it with hongjoong (seonghwa claiming he doesnt have an artistic bone in his body) but hongjoong is working, jongho doesnt feel like waiting for his daddy to come home so he reaches for a pretty color and opens the lid.

seonghwa is too busy folding the baby clothes that the startled cry of his name throws him off course. he instincts send him running to the living room, not seeing jongho in sight; panic ensuring.

he follows the sound of jongho whining, leading him straight into his bedroom. what he sees almost gives him a heart attack.

jongho with 2 open paint jars splattered all over his clothes and his blanket. there's blue and green paint all over the little rug that's by his desk. he takes notice of jongho looking frazzled not knowing what to do, his eyes search the room but instead they land on his daddy.

his eyes start to cloud with tears "pain for 'addy. I mae mess" seonghwa doesn't have the heart to scold him, but just comfort his upset baby. he moves closer, inspecting around jongho's mouth- no paint smears, that's a good sign.

he picks him up, cradling his shaky baby and goes to give him a bath instead.

  
an hour later, seonghwa is sitting on the couch with a quiet jongho curled up in his side. the little mess in their room all cleaned with the door halfway open, although seonghwa has a feeling that jongho won't be going in there anytime soon.

jongho is clad in one of his fluffy onesies, leaving his teddy bear in his arms but he chooses to cuddle with his daddy instead.

seonghwa kisses his head from time to time, he can sense his baby isn't himself. does he think hongjoong will be mad at him for making a mess with his paints?

"baby, are you okay?" seonghwa asks him

jongho only curls into his dad's arm more, opting not to answer.

  
the sound of the front door opening makes jongho flinch and hearing hongjoong's voice makes him whine crawling further into his dad's chest.

"hi my babies, I'm home!" hongjoong walks over to place his stuff down on the floor by the door.

hongjoong stops in his tracks "where's jongho? he always greets me when I come home"

seonghwa nods with his head that he's in his lap, motioning for his boyfriend to come closer.

hongjoong walks over to see jongho whimpering into seonghwa's shirt, in fact, hes trying to crawl _under_ his dad's shirt.

"what's wrong with my baby? are you feeling okay?" hongjoong sits next to seonghwa, making jongho shake his head.

seonghwa held his baby carefully "jongho snuck in our room, and got a hold of your paints. it wasn't too much of a mess, but he seems pretty shaken up by it. I think he think that you're mad at him"

hongjoong could help but frown at the realization, no matter what jongho could possibly conjure up in his little head, hongjoong could never be mad at him.

"baby, look at daddy, please?" hongjoong gently placed a hand on his baby's back.

jongho slowly lifted himself from his father's arms, peaking up at his daddy.

"baby, daddy isn't mad at you. don't be sad, daddy wants his happy jongho back" hongjoong tickled his stomach, making the baby's laughter fill up the room.

jongho managed to climb over seonghwa's lap and plop right into hongjoong's awaiting arms.

"wan pain for 'addy" jongho tried his best to explain, hongjoong automatically putting the pieces together.

"how sweet, my little angel wanted to paint for daddy?! oh you're so precious!" hongjoong kissed all over jongho's face, making the baby squeal with excitement.

"but next time wait for me, your daddy here is terrible at painting and would have made an even bigger mess than you" hongjoong looks up at said boyfriend, winking.

"don't turn this around on me! he's the one who broke into your paints!" seonghwa's attempts fall on deaf ears as he watches his boyfriend cuddle with their son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a little heads up for the next chapter some angst will ensue. big time.


	12. the visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hongjoong decides it's time for seonghwa and jongho to finally meet his mother, but at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say that obviously i've never seen nor met hongjoong's mother but I bet she's an amazing woman. once again this is all a work of fiction.
> 
> happy reading ❤

hongjoong fusses in the mirror, fixing his hair for what seonghwa thinks is the 15th time- he lost count after the 5th try.

"joong, baby, you look amazing. why are you fretting over your appearance?" seonghwa questions his boyfriend.

jongho seems to be lazing around, eyes fluttering as he lays by seonghwa's side.

hongjoong looks at him in the mirror, seeing their baby dozing off, knowing he must keep his volume low. "because, seonghwa, you and jongho are going to be meeting my mother for the first time."

seonghwa can't help but let out a breathy laugh "yeah and we're not leaving for another 2 hours, why are you getting ready now?"

hongjoong glares at him once again "why am I the one that always freaks out during these type of situations?! why are you always so calm and collected?"

"that's just who I am, baby. it's what balances us out so well, I'm calm and collected you're just...well...hongjoong" eliting a gasp from said boy.

"I'm only kidding, baby, you're amazing and it's okay to be nervous you have a wonderful support system right here...even though one of them still can't talk properly" seonghwa runs his hands through his baby's hair.

"that's what I like about him, he doesnt tease me or judge me" hongjoong dodges a pillow being thrown at him, barely catching it instead.

"alright..." seonghwa slowly sits up, carrying jongho carefully not to jostle the dozing baby. "I'm gonna go get jongho ready"

hongjoong nods as he lets out a shaky breath; his nerves beginning to overcome his senses.

\-----

hongjoong sighs as he pulls up to the curb of his childhood house, seeing a few other cars parked around. he internally hopes his mother didn't go overboard and invite the whole family, he doesn't want jongho to get overwhelmed.

  
"okay that's the 5th time you've sighed...I don't think I've ever seen you like this before..." seonghwa unbuckles his seatbelts and turns around to face hongjoong.

"its just...well...my mother never really approved of me liking the same sex...and that's one of the reasons why I don't really talk about her a lot, before I moved out, we had a really huge fight and she told me to change or to get out...and well...here I am. but when I talked to her recently, she seemed like she didnt hate my guts, and when I mentioned jongho, she definitely seemed, well... not too mad. I'm just nervous that what if something goes wrong?" hongjoong takes seonghwa's awaiting hand bringing it closer to his chest.

"well if anything happens we will leave immediately. I only want what's best for you, and if you feel uncomfortable then we will leave with no hesitation and I won't hesitate to yell or snap if the moment arises"

hongjoong can't help but smile at that "why is that your first instinct?"

seonghwa kisses his hand "I have to protect my family in some way, now let's go I think jongho's just about woken up from his nap"

  
hongjoong walks up ahead, taking one last (shaky) deep breath before knocking on the door.

  
hongjoong sees his mother open the door, the first time he's seen her was their last confrontation, she widens it for the trio to enter inside. 

"hello mother" hongjoong greeted, he can already feel the start of slight tension. "this is my boyfriend, seonghwa. and this is our son, jongho"

his mothed faltered "your son? right, I remember you mentioning that...it's nice to meet you, seonghwa."

seonghwa can't help but nod, he's glad he's holding jongho to avoid shaking her hand.

"your aunts and uncles are here, feel free to greet them and introduce them..." hongjoong sees her walk into the kitchen.

he looks back at seonghwa "I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach"

seonghwa places a hand on his cheek "it's gonna be okay, baby"

"what happened to leaving if I felt uncomfortable with no hesitation?" 

"well, baby, I'm keeping my eye out; we did just get here, let's just wait it out"

hongjoong sighed, not satisfied with his boyfriend's answer, but having no choice but agree with him.

  
seonghwa has been sitting with hongjoong's aunt while keeping an eye on jongho who is playing with hongjoong's cousin.

everyone is outside while hongjoong and his mother are inside the kitchen- alone. hongjoong feels his nerves start to rise but tries to simmer it down, repeating what seonghwa told him.

  
"how is work going? is that the one thing that you didn't change?" his mother's tone is sharp and blunt, something hongjoong was never fond of.

"y-yeah...I still work there"

"and where did you meet him?"

"seonghwa is one of the parents that bring his child to the daycare I'm at"

"you're not whoring around are you?"

" _mother!_ " hongjoong's tone got defensive. he felt utterly appalled that his own mother would ask him that. why couldn't she understand that he is in love with seonghwa? he's not someone he's just fooling around with just because...

"I'm just saying...don't get so hostile"

"why can't you accept that I'm happy where I am in my life? I have a wonderful partner and son, and yeah jongho isn't mine by blood, but you don't need to be blood related to be family" hongjoong felt his chest tighten drastically

"you're not gonna stand in my house and talk to me that way. I don't care if you're my son. you clearly forgot all the respect I taught you before you left...and you've seem to lost it as well" what made hongjoong feel more intimidated was the fact that she hasn't made eye contact with hongjoong once, only briefly when the first arrived.

he felt tears prick at his eyes "stop treating me like a _fucking_ kid! I'm not a child anymore! all you have done is give me crap and for what? for doing what's best for me? you don't have to accept me, but you need to goddamn respect my boyfriend _and_ child!"

hongjoong swears it all happened in an instant- he felt his head whip to the side, feeling the slight sting forming on his cheek.

he watched his mother sigh, exiting the room in silence.

hongjoong felt he was about to break. 

he needs seonghwa here with him.

with shaky hands, he pulled out his phone. he could barely see but manages to dial his boyfriend's number.

"come inside right now and bring jongho" 

not even giving him a chance to answer, he ended the call and made his way into one of the spare bedrooms, throwing his phone on the bed.

he sunk to the floor as he sat in shock. he can't believe his own mother had hit him. he feels himself spiraling, not registering the door opening and a pair of little arms hugging him.

"'addy got boo boo" jongho whispered, he felt uneasy seeing his daddy cry and his other daddy look scared, holding his teddy bear close to his chest.

"oh my god, hongjoong..." seonghwa's voice was low enough not to startle the already shaking hongjoong.

"hwa..." hongjoong held his arms out, not even processing that their baby was in the room with them.

"oh god, hongjoong this is all my fault, I dont know why I didnt listen to you in the first place...I'm so stupid why didnt I trust your word? I'm so sorry, baby" seonghwa wraps his arms around his shaking boyfriend, placing him in his lap.

seonghwa looks over to see jongho with wide eyes filled with tears, he motions for him to come closer. jongho runs over with no hesitation, engulfing in the side hug his father is giving him.

"d-daddy..." jongho whimpers, holding hongjoong's hand, giving him little wet kisses.

hongjoong pulls jongho onto his lap, his tears hitting jongho's arm. the trio stay still for a few more moments before seonghwa decides he needs to get his family back home- to their safe haven.

hongjoong clutches jongho tightly, and the baby let's him, both boys needing the comfort right now. when they reach the car, jongho fusses, not wanting to leave hongjoong's arms. he's scared something will happen to his daddy. 

seonghwa allows hongjoong to sit in the backseat with jongho clutched to his chest, helping him wrap his seatbelt around jongho. 

he knows that it's not safe and jongho needs to be in his carseat, but jongho needs his father's comfort right now and who is seonghwa to tell him no?

seonghwa places a kiss onto both their heads- trying not to stare at the faint redness on his boyfriend's cheek- as he buckles himself in and starts the drive home.

-

later that night, seonghwa sees hongjoong peacefully sleeping, his cheek looking less irritated. 

he takes a moment to stare at his sleeping lover. he feels like he didn't protect him and he ended up getting hurt. 

he feels so stupid- he's the one who told hongjoong that they would leave if he feels uncomfortable, and when hongjoong expresses his discomfort he tells him to just wait.

the disappointment flooded his chest, he didn't protect his baby, and it's all his fault.

  
it took jongho a while to calm down as well- it was late when they arrived home and they decided to just put jongho down for the night.

he was scared to let go of hongjoong, he didnt even want him to sleep on his side, he wanted to stay in the same exact position he was in or else he would freak out.

hongjoong crawled into jongho's crib, feeling lucky that he has a small frame, and held jongho until he fell asleep.

it only took a few minutes for the baby's breathing to even out- the events from today tiring him out instantly.

hongjoong carefully climbed out of jongho's crib and made his way to his bed, not even moving the sheets. he has no energy to do so, and just plops onto bed.

just like jongho, he's out within minutes.

  
the sound of screaming and crying woke seonghwa up in a flash, he moved the sheets out of the way, practically tripping running down the hall to jongho's room. 

he sees the baby standing up on his legs, holding the bar for balance- snot and tears adorn his little chubby face.

"baby, it's okay, daddy is here" jongho shakes his head, snuggking further into his blanket

"d-daddy" he whimpers. 

seonghwa sympathizes with his baby. the events from today must have shaken him up pretty bad. seeing hongjoong cry hysterically clearly left their baby feeling scared. before he went to sleep, he was clinging onto hongjoong harder than usual.

"okay, baby, we'll go see daddy" jongho is carried in seonghwa's arms, looking exhausted and worn out.

seonghwa enters his room, not even getting the chance to put jongho down. he practically jumps out of seonghwa's grip and lands on hongjoong's lap- startling the sleeping man.

"ahh seonghwa what's goi- oh baby, are you alright?" hongjoong rocks jongho in his arms, patting his back gently.

"he still seems to be shaken up about today..." seonghwa crawls into bed next to his lover.

jongho leans back and places a chubby hand on hongjoong's cheek "'addy" he clings back into hongjoongs grip.

hongjoong feels tears form in his eyes. he feels horrible for what happened today. seonghwa's heart breaks at the scene in front of him. he's never seen jongho this shaken up before.

"baby, daddy and I will always be here to protect you. we love you so much" hongjoong spoke into jongho's ear, laying the both of them back down.

jongho in the middle of both parents, but clinging onto hongjoong.

he wants to make sure his daddies are always happy, he loves them and hates to see them cry or hurt.

jongho falls asleep feeling the warmth of both his parents radiate onto him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the best at writing angst or situations like this but still wanted to try it hopefully it wasnt too bad. maybe more angst next chapter? idk yet lol


	13. lessons learned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hongjoong helps seonghwa with jongho's tantrums.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! I have the day off work today (woohoo) so please enjoy this chapter ❤

for the most part, jongho is such a sweet and loving baby, who is sucker for cuddles. but there are the moments where he can be fussy, and it's not a pretty picture for either parent.

this morning was one of those days.

hongjoong decides to get breakfast ready, while seonghwa wakes jongho up.

seonghwa leans over the crib to see jongho still out cold, his teddy bear next to him and his blanket clutched in his chubby hands. seonghwa loves how hongjoong gifted jongho that blanket so long ago, and the baby still clings to it.

the father decides to slowly wake him up, pushing his hair back "jongho, baby, wake up" his voice is low enough not to startle the still sleeping baby.

jongho fusses and starts whining, eyebrows furrowing. he looks mad as he slowly opens his eyes, turning over not adjusted to the bright room.

"it's time to wake up, my love bug, come to daddy" seonghwa tries to pick up jongho, but is met with a fussy baby, not wanting to be bothered.

seonghwa already knows this tell tale sign- jongho is gonna be cranky today. 

"great, can't wait" he mutters under his breath.

he attempts to hold the thrashing baby in his arms and bring him to the changing table.

there's one thing seonghwa doesn't enjoy out of all the things of parenthood- changing a fussy baby's diaper. he manages to miss every kick jongho's little legs throw, whines turning into loud cries. 

seonghwa sighs as he placed his pants back up, and carries him into the kitchen.

hongjoong turns around to see a squirming jongho in his father's arms.

"its gonna be one of those days today, get ready" seonghwa warned, trying to buckle jongho in his highchair.

hongjoong could only pout as he watches seonghwa attempt to put jongho in his high chair but ultimately give up, placing him down on the floor instead.

jongho was whining, thrashing his chubby legs around, kicking anything in sight. he was whining for his daddy, but fussed more when he didn't see either parent coming to his aid.

hongjoong sighed as he watched seonghwa sit on the couch, running a hand through his black hair. "don't stress too much on this, dear, you know this is just how babies are"

hongjoong gingerly sat on his boyfriend's lap, running his hand through the taller's hair instead. "I am not having two grumpy babies today, please don't overthink or stress over this"

seonghwa gripped hongjoong's thigh, running his thumb up and down gingerly "it's just frustrating sometimes, whenever he gets like this I can't help but feel like I'm doing something wrong"

hongjoong placed a slow kiss on his boyfriends cheek "you are the best damn father in the history of fathers, you do everything and anything you can to make jongho safe and happy. but there's always gonna be moments where he gets like this, it's just natural. what do you usually do when he acts like this?"

seonghwa glanced at the baby crying on the floor "I just ignore it really. my parents told me when I would act like that, they wouldn't pay attention to my bad behavior and only praise my good behavior. It works on him, but I just can't stand to see him frustrated"

hongjoong raised his eyebrow "alright then let's do that, and seonghwa?" he wait for the latter to look up at him "you're not alone in this anymore, you have me now, don't forget that" seonghwa leans down to give a quick peck, smiling into the kiss.

for the rest of the morning, jongho acted out simply to get his parent's attention. he would purposely throw his toys across his room, knock over some books, and when his parents didn't budge, he went a little further as to attempt to take off his shoes and throw them in front of seonghwa and hongjoong.

the said couple would go about their business, while not paying attention to their tantrum throwing child. seonghwa couldn't help but glance every now and then when he wasn't looking to make sure he wasn't going to hurt himself.

it was around the time that jongho usually takes a nap, when he got even more cranky. this was more than what seonghwa has ever seen before, he would reach over to throw the pillows off the couch, and would knock anything down in his path.

he felt mad that his daddies weren't paying him attention, he felt utterly defeated when his attempts all failed. 

he stopped screaming for a moment to yawn and rub his eyes. this gained seonghwa's attention momentarily. he saw how jongho curled in on himself, now letting out soft cries. he waddled over to seonghwa's leg, hugging it tightly.

hongjoong walked in from their bedroom to see the living room a complete disaster and the terror behind it curled into his father's leg, dozing off quietly.

seonghwa just carefully picked up their sleeping baby and placed him on a pile of pillows that jongho himself threw in his tantrum.

"let's hope this nap will calm him down" seonghwa whispered as he backed up from where their baby was sleeping.

hongjoong began to clean up some of the books and toys in jongho's room. seonghwa noticed as he walked by "what are you doing?"

"I'm putting the heavy and high stuff away, he's going to clean and put away what he can reach." hongjoong attempts to put some of his toys in his closet, stretching to his tippy toes but ultimately failing, huffing in annoyance. 

his boyfriend reaches over and puts the toy away with ease "yeah yeah I get it you're taller, don't rub it in okay?" 

hongjoong crosses his arms and looks away. seonghwa only wraps his arms, kissing his boyfriend under his ear before being playfully pushes away.

it's quiet enough for them to hear jongho start to wake up from his little spot in the living room.

"'addy?" he calls out, his voice hoarse from just woken up.

seonghwa places his finger on his lips as he drags hongjoong into jongho's closet. its pretty small space and hongjoong has to be pushed up against seonghwa's chest.

"why are we hiding?" hongjoong whispers

seonghwa quickly shushed him as they hear the padded feet of their son walk into his room.

he looks all around, circling the room before he plops down on the carpet, his head on his hands as his bottom is up in the air.

"'addy I sad wan my 'addy" it's the quiet whimpers that almost make hongjoong burst open the closet door, but a grip on his waist grounds him from doing so.

he stands up on two wobbly feet and runs out his bedroom to find them again.

"seonghwa this is torture" hongjoong groans

"alright fine, you're no fun" his boyfriend sighs in defeat, pout ever so gently forming "let's go find him"

the pair step out of the closet, breathing the fresh air, making their way to the living room; where they see jongho whimpering looking around.

the sound of feet shuffling make jongho's ears perk up. his daddies are here! he runs into hongjoong's arms, burying his nose in his shirt.

"'addy miss my 'addy" jongho mumbles, clinging onto the warmth of his other father. seonghwa steps aside, watching hongjoong.

hongjoong looks down at him "jongho, you made a mess in your room and the living room because you were being fussy. we can't do that, daddy doesn't want you to get hurt. we need to go clean your mess and say sorry to daddy"

hongjoong knows for a fact that jongho is way too young to comprehend what he just told him, but nonetheless follows behind hongjoong as they go back into jongho's room.

jongho sees hongjoong put toys in a basket and copies him, earning an encouraging smile from his daddy for doing what must be good.

the pair make their way to the living room and clean up the pillows and blankets that were thrown around.

"you did a very good job cleaning, jongho." jongho smiles as he sees hongjoong smiling.

"now let's go apologize to daddy" jongho got up and followed hongjoong, holding his hand.

seonghwa hears the padded feet of his baby growing closer. he looks up to see jongho trying to hide behind his hongjoongs leg.

"jongho..." hongjoong presses, gently pushing him away from his leg.

jongho waddles up to seonghwa's leg, the latter picking him and placing him on his lap "'addy no mess. I goo 'aby"

hongjoong put his hand over his heart, trying not to squeal. seonghwa kissed the top of his baby's head "you're always my good baby, don't ever forget that. thank you for helping your daddy clean up"

jongho smiled seeing his daddy smile and smushed his face together "I love 'addy"

seonghwa smiled back "I love my baby"


	14. misinterpretations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hongjoong is known for always sporting jongho by his side causing him to think that seonghwa is mad at him for spoiling the baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure what the plot of this was it just randomly came to mind lol. some of the one-shots that i have saved in my notes are pretty much all posted so please leave any requests if you'd like!

seonghwa and hongjoong love going to spend time with seonghwa's side of the family. 

hongjoong loves the loud laughter and friendly shouting coming from his aunt's and uncles. he loves hearing the babies squeal and play together.

he just loves feeling like he _belongs_ here; unlike with his own family.

  
the couple were sitting outside, lazing around on the deck with blankets laid out all over the floor. from where they sit, they can hear the babies of the family play and laugh together- they dont even need to listen closely to hear jongho's loud voice mixed with the laughter and high-pitched babbles.

seonghwa sits with his legs in front of him, hongjoong leaning on his shoulder. seonghwa lazily takes hongjoong's hand in his and hongjoong has to hide his goofy smile when he feels his boyfriend play with the promise ring he gave him.

"okay..." one of seonghwa's aunts gain everyone's attention "I must say, you two are a couple of lovebirds...tell us the story of how you met and started dating!" all the other aunts and his female cousins on the deck started squealing, turning their bodies towards the said couple.

hongjoong shyly spoke up "well...I remember when I first saw seonghwa. I was clocking out to go on break when my boss stopped me, explaining how seonghwa is a new parent and his son would be in my classroom." hongjoong looks down, thankful the night sky hides his blushing cheeks "all I remember is 'god this man is so incredibly handsome' and when everyone at my job found out he was really young, we all started gawking at _mr.park_."

hongjoong feels a kiss being pressed onto his cheek "he became the eye candy at work, everyone feel for his looks... but I knew there was more to seonghwa than just a pretty face. I always knew he was, and still is, a good father by the way he asked me all these questions that new parents normally don't ask"

"when I first met jongho, I was already falling for the baby. he was so sweet and cute and loved getting kisses on his little chubby cheeks; that was him at 5 months old, and he's still the same"

seonghwa chimed in this time "I remember when I first saw hongjoong, gosh at first I was taken back by his enthusiasm. sometimes when I would drop off or pick up jongho, he would have a big smile on his face and I couldn't help but find it sweet but just a hint annoying, I kept thinking 'why is this guy always so full of energy?'"

said boyfriend only shove his elbow into his shoulder "but I think I started noticing seonghwa in a different light was that one night I babysat jongho...when you kissed me for the first time" he smiled up at seonghwa, the latter leaning his forehead against his boyfriend's.

everyone squealed at that, all cooing at how romantic their love story was.

"oh gosh jongho even loved having 'joo' at home and at school. he grew accustomed and fell into the habit of calling hongjoong "daddy" pretty quickly" seonghwa felt heat rise to his cheeks, smiling down at hongjoong.

"I think it's very sweet that he trusts you, hongjoong; even from the beginning" his aunt spoke up.

seonghwa smiles "if anything, jongho is a little more attached to him than me...I mean yeah, he loves us both, but I can sense that he gravitates towards hongjoong when he's in need of cuddles and someone to hold him."

"oh, please" hongjoong snorts "he loves to cuddle both of us. I treat him the same as you do"

"baby, remember the dentist visit? he was clinging to you the whole time..."

"yes but he was holding your hand as well!"

a few laughs interrupt their banter "hongjoong..." they all look up to see seonghwa's mother join them on the blankets "I'm just really glad that seonghwa has found someone he truly loves. he looks at you with so much love and admiration; and how big his smile gets when he introduces you as 'jongho's other father' seonghwa didn't have an easy start to parenthood but it will definitely continue smoothly with you by his side"

  
hongjoong turned into seonghwa's chest, trying to hide his tears. curse him for being so sentimental...

"oh, baby, don't cry, it's okay" seonghwa rocks his boyfriend back and forth, pressing kisses into his hair

"if you think this is sweet, you should have seen when I first told him I love him" he chuckles- soothing his baby with his arms wrapped around his waist, chin leaning on his shoulder as he whispers sweet nothings into his ear.

  
they end up staying in the same position for almost 2 hours, watching as some people bid farewell.

jongho just finished eating a little midnight snack- they figured it's already 2 hours past his bedtime and hongjoong is home with him, might as well let the baby splurge.

  
a few moments later, hongjoong feels a slight tug on his hoodie. he looks down and sees its one of seonghwa's little cousins, holding jongho's hand.

jongho stands there, rubbing his eyes, sniffling as he looks down.

hongjoong coos "baby, are you okay?" jongho throws himself onto hongjoong's lap, sniffles becoming more prominent.

he can faintly make out what he hears seonghwa saying "-lways goes to joong"

hongjoong felt a small pang hit his chest. is seonghwa annoyed that jongho comes to him instead of his father for comfort? 

he doesn't bring it up, he decides he'll ask later, not wanting to ruin the nice vibe around the adults.

jongho curls a chubby finger around his shirt, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "'addy seep" hongjoong only heard what jongho mumbled as he was resting his head next to his ear.

seonghwa gently runs his son's back, seeing his boyfriend's eyes begin to flutter as he rocks his baby. "I think it's time we start going. I have two sleepy babies to tuck into bed."

  
-

hongjoong softly tosses and turns as he wakes up in the middle of the night.

he can't seem to shake out of his head about what happened earlier; in his sleepy mindset, he thinks seonghwa is mad at him that jongho prefers him than his own father when he wants comfort.

and he can't sleep knowing that seonghwa is mad at him (or so he thinks he is). his tossing and turning must have woken up said boyfriend, as he places an arm around his waist.

"baby" seonghwa's voice sounds like he's barely awake himself "you okay?"

hongjoong just shakes his head, lips wobbly as he realizes that his boyfriend can't see him, but the tell tale sign of sniffling is enough for seonghwa to turn around and flick the light on his side of the bed.

seonghwa can see the look on hongjoong's face- like he's about to break into a fit of sobs. "oh, bab-"

hongjoong curls in on himself when seonghwa opens his arms for him, a little taken back when his boyfriend doesn't jump on him like he usually does. is it because he's still half asleep? even if he was, he would always pounce into his awaiting arms.

"baby, is something wrong?" hongjoong wipes his tears, shaking his head before turning around back into the sheets.

seonghwa finds this a little odd. is hongjoong coming down with a cold? he never acts like this...

seonghwa gently maneuvers hongjoong onto his back, one arm resting over his boyfriend's stomach. "baby, tell me what's the matter...don't hide stuff from me, please"

hongjoong hides his face with his hands, slowly lowering them to show his red eyes to seonghwa. "are y-you mad at m-me?" he's lucky he's leaning close, he wouldn't be able to hear him if he wasn't.

  
ssonghwa leans back a little "hongjoong, I have no reason to be mad at you...why would you think that, love?"

the blonde man rubs his eyes "jongho always comes to me when he wants cuddles or hugs"

seonghwa could only coo "baby...you're being silly...why would I be mad at the person who gives my son so much love and attention and teaches him everyday and i trust to call him his other father as well?"

hongjoong shrinks into himself as much as he can, he's starting to feel a little silly "you never really see how he is when you're at work and it's just me and him. sometimes he'll play on his own, but for the most part, he's glued up my ass" seonghwa chuckles lowly

hongjoong takes a deep breath, slowly registering the words his boyfriend is telling him.

"I just dont want you to think I'm spoiling him with attention...even at work, when he sees me on the playground, he will refuse to leave my side no matter how many times i encourage him to go and play...even the other teachers try to help but I tell them to just not bother. I'd rather have a happy clingy jongho than a grumpy crying one" hongjoong explains

seonghwa gently runs his hand through his boyfriends hair "hongjoong, don't ever doubt yourself. I know it may not be good for him but i'd rather him be spoiled with our attention than toys and whatnot. I want jongho to know that his daddies love him and will always be there to spend time with him."

hongjoong cups seonghwa's face in his hands "I have such a wonderful boyfriend..how did I get so lucky?"

the latter smiles "I couldn't help it, you had my attention since day one...gosh, i feel so happy that you're in my life and raising jongho with me"

  
the couple stay in each other's embrace for few more moment, before getting comfortable and closing their eyes.


	15. the spark in your eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a coworkers nasty comment makes hongjoong really question if he's made to be a caregiver. and also, a parent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please enjoy this chapter requested by @yeppiteez !! i hope this is what you asked for 🥺🥺

it was one of those rare moments that seonghwa came home before hongjoong and jongho, and as much as he loves his babies to death, he can't help but bask in the quietness of an empty home.

but he feels like he spoke too soon- as soon as he sits down, the front door opens. not even looking up, he can sense that something happened; for once, not being greeted by loud squeals and giggles, but tears and sniffles.

"'addy' seonghwa hates hearing his baby's voice crack, noting his lower lip wobbling.

seonghwa gently placed him on his lap, softly rubbing his back "what's wrong, jongho?"

seonghwa kept his focus on jongho, but could see hongjoong out of the corner of his eye- normally loud and chirpy, now drags into the bedroom, shoulders hunched, feet dragging across the wood floor. seonghwa notices how he never once took off his shoes- something he usually has to remind seonghwa of.

"'addy sad...'addy crying" jongho's little voice broke seonghwa out of his train of thought- now looking back at his son.

seonghwa knew before he went to comfort his boyfriend, he needed to reassure his son that everything would be okay.

"daddy is sad but it's alright..." he maneuvers him onto the couch- jongho reluctantly letting him go "you stay here so i can make sure daddy is okay"

seonghwa places a gentle kiss on his baby's head, pushing some of the hair away from his eyes (momentarily thinking how soon jongho will need a haircut). he hands his son his blanket and teddy bear, watching jongho snuggle up into the comfort items; his eyes blinking slowly.

walking into the bedroom, seonghwa can already feel the sadness radiate off his boyfriend. said boyfriend is seen curled into the mattress- the light shining from the moon lets seonghwa see the tear streaks adorned on his face.

"hongjoong..." seonghwa speaks low to let hongjoong know he's in the room with him, afraid to startle him even more.

the said man doesn't even turn at the mention of his name. seonghwa slowly climbs into bed with him, staying still on his side for a few moments until he feels hongjoong turn and curl into his boyfriend's chest.

seonghwa does what he does best- wraps his arms loosely around hongjoong's waist. he wants to move slowly so hongjoong is aware of what is going on. he feels hongjoong grab his arms and pulls them tighter around him, and if it's possible- inches even closer to his chest.

"oh, baby..." seonghwa mumbles, petting hongjoong's hair softly.

hongjoong sniffled before moving his shirt away from covering his mouth "it wasn't a good day today..."

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hongjoong was closing out his room, getting ready to go home. it's his favorite time of the day, where as he's cleaning he can just relax (to an extent) and unwind from a busy bustling day; he likes to view it as a moment to reflect on what he's done today and how he can improve the next day.

he's broken out of his thoughts when the classroom door slams shut, making him jump. he looks up to see one of his coworkers that he knows isn't too fond of him. he keeps his distance, making it very clear with his body language that he wants to be left alone.

she takes a moment to look around the room "soo...where's jongho?" her face turning into a smug smirk

"he's still in his classroom"

"ahh, i see..." she sits on the small table with her legs crossed. hongjoong is definitely getting a bad vibe from this while conversation, more or so doing his best to keep it short and (not) sweet.

"do you take him home to mr.park?" hongjoong momentarily catches eyes with her, her whole demeanor screams bitchy. he goes to stack up the chairs to keep himself busy.

"yeah"

"and you go home after?"

hongjoong's eyebrows furrow "no i live with them"

"so you just threw yourself into their home, pretty much?"

hongjoong falters "what does that mean?"

her face prompted into a pout "i'm just saying...you're dating one of the parents, then suddenly move in with them...sounds to me like what a _homewrecker_ would do. i bet mr. park doesn't even want you there. "

hongjoong can feel all the energy drain from him. he feels a surge of anger run through him. how dare she have the fucking nerve to call him that? he's been nothing but nurturing and caring to jongho, seonghwa glady accepted him into their little duo; seonghwa and hongjoong feeling comfortable enough with each other (and their relationship) to continue the next step and have hongjoong move in with them.

ever since hongjoong was a teenager, he's always felt the passion for wanting to teach and care for young children. growing up, hongjoong never received much love (or heck, really _any_ love) from his parents; his mom busy with work, his dad disappearing from the picture when he turned 15. his childhood he was mainly raised either on his own or his grandparents would help here and there until traveling back and forth made the elders grow tired. hongjoong had no other siblings, he only had himself.

when he was 17, he decided to leave home and go to school for early childhood; and here he is now. with a steady job, a roof over his head, and more importantly two people he can give his love and affection to. all his life, hongjoong has only wanted to give the same love and nourishment to babies that he never received when he was their age. he wanted to make a difference in a child's life; and he goes home very night knowing that he is doing that right now.

while deep down, he knows jongho isn't biologically his child, he will stop at nothing to make sure the baby is taught and given plenty of love- and he can't wait to do that with seonghwa. hongjoong can't help but feel this is the universe's way of making up for his childhood.

but deep down, her words sit heavy in the front of his mind. should he really just leave?

he has no time to process even further as the door to his classroom is heard being open and then closed gently. he tries his best to blink away the tears, but fails to do so. jongho comes waddling over to him, rubbing his eyes, a pout prominent on his lips.

"hey hongjoong" his teacher greets softly "jongho was about to fall asleep any second so i brought him to you, i hope im not interrupting, but i-hey, are you okay?"

her soft voice makes jongho look up at his daddy. he sees his daddy has tears in his eyes, taking deep breaths (he remembers daddy telling him to do that when he's crying himself). jongho grabs both his daddies hands pushing them away, leaning into his stomach- doing his best what he thinks is a hug.

hongjoong nonchalantly wipes his eyes, picking up jongho "it's okay, i was just about to get him anyway" he purposely ignores her question, afraid that he might break down if he tries to answer, even if it's a lie.

hongjoong makes his way out the building and into his car. looking back, he sees jongho's head slowly lolling to the side, his eyes trying their best to stay open. a fresh wave of tears form as he looks back at the child he's grown to love and care for.

that nagging feeling comes back into place, his coworkers words sinking into his head. is he really not meant to be a caregiver? is he really not meant to be a _parent_?

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"that little son of a bitch...what's her name? where does she live?! i'm about to go beat this bitch up!" hongjoong now sits up, watching his boyfriend pace back and forth across the room. he's never seen seonghwa this mad and quiet frankly, he's a little nervous.

"how _fucking_ dare she say that to you?!" seonghwa's face becomes a little red, unaware that hongjoong has curled in on himself even more; and even though he's pissed, he knows to keep his volume low- he doesn't want jongho to hear him yell like this "she has no right, that's fucking bullshit! that's none of her fucking business to know what goes on in our lives. she sounds like a petty, stuck up, good for nothing, low life son of a bi-"

seonghwa's rants are cut off by the small sound of a whine, he looks up and sees hongjoong staring at him longingly- almost pleading with his big round tear-filled eyes to stop. the latter sighs softly, crawling back into bed next to his boyfriend.

"come here, baby, i'm calm now, it's okay" hongjoong cautiously scoots his way over to his boyfriend, burying his head into the crook of his neck. he takes a moment to rub his back, rocking them slowly back and forth.

"i don't like when you yell..." hongjoong mumbles, sniffling here and there.

"hongjoong..." seonghwa pulls him back, cupping his face. he takes a moment to really look at his boyfriend. he sees hongjoong's eyes are wide; they hold so much innocence, passion, and a spark underneath it all. he's aware of hongjoong's childhood and how difficult it was growing up with absent parents, the only time they acknowledge him was to yell or shout. he lets out a sigh, rubbing his shoulder carefully.

"i'm sorry i yelled. you know it wasn't at you, but at her for saying those things about you. i'm sorry that i scared you, sweetheart. that's never my intention" hongjoong wraps his arms tighter around his boyfriend as the latter places a soft kiss onto his forehead.

"hongjoong, don't even think or dwell on what she said. you are an amazing teacher, you are the best at what you do, i know your dream is to make a difference in a child's life, and baby, you're doing that. and i'm so proud of you, don't ever forget that" he places another kiss, but this time, on his cheek "i want you to understand, that no matter what your mom, or any of your coworkers tell you, you are jongho's father just as much as i am. every day, i wake up so blessed knowing that you're in my life, raising my son with me; and when he gets older, he probably won't remember much of when he was a baby, but he's still gonna be that same smart, loud and affectionate kid and it's all thanks to you. i love you so much, and i want you to know that you're gonna be with me forever...and who knows maybe another little one? although, i know you're only set on having jongho. you're his parent, and you always will be"

hongjoong looks at seonghwa like he holds the whole world, and in that split second, he thinks he does. he leans forward, lips pressing against each other. "i'm in love with you, seonghwa"

seonghwa smiles "and i am as well, forever and always." he places another kiss onto the corner of his mouth "now" another on his cheek "let's go check on our son. before i came in here, he was almost knocked out"

hongjoong nods, letting seonghwa lead the way into the living room, but not before entwining their hands together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter might not be the best my anxiety has really been bad these past couple of days. i won't go too into detail but i have to quarantine for 14 days as i was exposed to someone who tested positive (i got negative results but it was high risk exposure so i have to be extremely careful) so while I'm cooped up in my room, please leave requests, i'll try my best to get to them!


	16. a lil vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seonghwa decides it's time for all 3 of them to go on a little vacation!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> too much angst in my latest chapters how about some good 'ol fluff! please bare with me I'm in the middle of writing another small fic so my brain is like a jumbled pile of mush as I switch between the two lol
> 
> enjoy!! thank you to @yeppiteez for requesting this! ❤❤

seonghwa was too engrossed in typing away on his laptop that he didn't notice hongjoong walking in with jongho until the baby began fussing. he looks up to see exactly what he heard- jongho with a pacifier lodged in his mouth, clinging onto hongjoong with a death grip.

"someone woke up in a cranky mood, huh?" hongjoong walked closer to where seonghwa was sitting at the dining room table; the latter letting out a little huff as he placed jongho on the table causing the baby to let out a soft whimper.

"jongho, baby, i'm not going anywhere but you're making daddy's arms hurt" hongjoong sighed, watching as jongho slid his way back into hongjoong's arms. no matter how tired or sore his muscles get, he'll never deny his baby of cuddles.

"he definitely had a bad dream, he's normally never like this" he opts to rub jongho's back, rocking him gently, focusing his attention on his boyfriend. "what are you doing on your computer so early in the morning, huh?"

seonghwa absentmindedly goes to smooth his son's hair down from sticking in all different directions "well...i kinda wanted it to be a surprise, but i was planning a little vacation for all of us. we really need one, especially jongho. he's never really cooped up in the house for this long"

hongjoong hums in agreement "it's not our fault it's been raining these past few days.. but a vacation does sound nice! where is daddy gonna take us?"

seonghwa looks over to see a smug look on his boyfriend's face (in that moment, wanting to just kiss it right off, but holds himself back due to their being right next to them) "i wasn't planning anything extravagant really, just somewhere by the water. _however_ " he pauses for dramatic effect, turning his laptop over to let the younger look at the screen.

jongho was just about to fall asleep, but was jostled awake- due to hongjoong's dramatic gasps "has jongho ever been on a plane before?"

seonghwa moves the laptop back to face him, shaking his head. he doesn't get the chance to respond as jongho's whimpers turned into soft cries. he took his baby out of his boyfriend's arms, cradling him in his arms- to which the baby immediately quieted down. "he's never been on one before, and i'm a little nervous only cause it's a pretty long flight...and we need to leave here at 4 in the morning"

hongjoong stood up from his chair "well!" he clapped his hands "let's get packing!" and made his way to the bedroom. seonghwa may or may not stare at him with heart eyes as he literally _skips_ into the bedroom.

\-----------

the trio manage to make it to the airport and on their flight in record time- excluding the fact that jongho was definitely not happy bring woken up so abruptly. seonghwa types on his phone as hongjoong gets jongho settled in the middle seat; much to his dismay, as jongho refuses to leave his father's arms.

seonghwa leans his head back, watching hongjoong cradle jongho in his arms. the baby stares wide-eyed out the window; occasionally standing up and pressing his face against the glass. hongjoong loves how mesmerized jongho is of the view, he's even more grateful that the baby isn't grumpy or scared.

hongjoong turns his head to see seonghwa staring right back at him, a shy smile curving onto his lips "what'cha looking at?" his boyfriend places his hand onto his cheek, gently running his thumb up and down "just my oh so beautiful and wonderful boyfriend who i love so much and i'm so grateful for"

hongjoong can't help but smile "stop acting like a mush" his face ends up being squished into his boyfriend's cupped hands, slightly wet kisses being pressed all over his face. "can't help it if you make me feel this way"

the pair don't notice jongho crawling over their laps, snuggling into seonghwa's stomach. the father runs his hands through his babys hair, lulling him to sleep.

"I love you"

seonghwa turns around to notice hongjoong smiling at him then at their son. he goes back to his previous attack, placing kisses on any exposed skin he can reach of his boyfriend (without waking up the sleeping baby in his lap)

"I love you, too"

\----------

the pair take in a fresh breath of air as they finally make their up to their hotel room. jongho being carried in seonghwa's arms, homgjoong carrying their luggage (which thankfully to the smaller man, isn't a lot).

sliding in their key card, hongjoong rolls the suitcase into the room, then proceeds to plop on the bed in starfisb position. jongho squeals, clapping his hands, as he fiddles out of seonghwa's grasp, jumping on top of hongjoongs stomach.

the father surprised him by tickling him until he almost turn red, laughter filling the room. seonghwa closes the door, joining them on the bed.

"jongho, you know daddy loves you, right?" jongho looks up at seonghwa, doing his best to crawl over the sheets to his dad's lap.

"'uv my 'addy" he replies, leaving wet kisses behind. seonghwa smiles, returning the gesture.

"and you know that I love you, right, my precious?" he turns to face hongjoong- who's looking at seonghwa with all the love and adoration he can muster up.

"I'll never forget, seonghwa." he leans forward to press their lips together, basking in the warmth of his boyfriend kisses.

their little moment is bittersweet as the couple hear their baby squeal while looking out the window.

"you wanna go to the beach, baby?" seonghwa asks, earning him a loud yelp and a clap of his hands.

"alright! let's go get ready!" hongjoong scoops him up, lifting their suitcase onto the bed.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed reading this :)
> 
> [twt: rosesforwonho] 💕


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